Defending Champion Leads  2007 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Semifinalists

Carefree, Ariz. – Defending champion Meghan Bolger, 29, of Haddonfield, N.J., ousted stroke-play medalist Dawn Woodard of Franklin, Tenn., to lead the semifinalists at the 2007 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur, being played at the 6,208-yard, par-73 Desert Forest Golf Club.

Also advancing were Lisa McGill, 48, of Philadelphia, Pa., Kerry Postillion, 44, of Burr Ridge, Ill., and three-time Women’s Mid-Amateur champion Ellen Port, 46, of St. Louis, Mo.

Bolger, who is trying to become the first repeat champion since Port won the 1995 and 1996 championships, built a 4-up lead against Woodard after 11 holes.

“We just went back and forth getting the momentum going,” said Bolger. “She missed a couple short putts, which helped swing the momentum in my favor. But you want to stay up, you never want to get down.”

Lisa McGill hits out of the desert during her quarterfinal victory over Anna Schultz. McGill will face defending champion Meghan Bolger in Wednesday afternoon's semifinals. (John Mummert/USGA)

But Woodard wasn’t ready to call it quits, cutting the deficit to 3 down when Bolger bogeyed the 13th. After Woodard made a 35-foot eagle putt on the 16th and almost holed her tee shot on the par-3, 155-yard 17th hole, she came to the 18th tee trailing just 1 down.

After Bolger missed her 15-foot birdie try, it was Woodard’s turn from 8 feet. She had the correct line but left the putt short.

“I think I got a little line happy,” said the 33-year-old Woodard, who was trying to become the first stroke-play medalist to win the title since Port did so in 2000. “I was trying to make sure I rolled it on the right line, and I forgot to hit it.”

Bolger’s semifinal opponent Wednesday afternoon will be McGill, who earned a victory over 2007 USGA Senior Women’s Amateur champion Anna Schultz, 52, of Rockwall, Texas, in 19 holes.

Schultz held a 2-up edge after 16 holes but McGill won No. 16 with a birdie and took the 18th when Schultz found the desert on her approach shot. On the first extra hole, the par-4 first, McGill earned the victory when Schultz couldn’t get up-and-down from a greenside bunker and McGill safely two-putted from 15 feet.

McGill and Bolger are quite familiar with each other from playing events together in the Philadelphia area.

“She’s such a great player,” said McGill of Bolger. “I’m just going to go have fun. I feel like there’s no pressure on me because I’m just fortunate to be here. I have no great expectations. I’d love to go all the way, but I’m just happy to be here and we’ll see what happens."

The loss ended Schultz’s hopes of becoming the seventh golfer in history, and the second this year, to win two USGA championships in the same season. Despite the loss, Schultz wasn’t disappointed.

“At any USGA event, if you can get into match play it’s a thrill, and as you keep advancing it’s just awesome,” said Schultz. “I’m pleased. Everybody is so good and everything just has to go your way. I didn’t pull it off like I wanted to today, but I’m proud of myself for what I’ve done.”

Port kept her dreams of a record fourth U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur alive with a 1-up victory over 1998 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion Virginia Derby Grimes, 43, of Meridian, Miss.

Grimes held a 3-up advantage after nine holes but Port began chipping away at the lead, winning No. 10 with a par and the 11th with a birdie. She squared the match when Grimes bogeyed the 15th, and took her first lead of the day when she almost holed her tee shot at the 17th with a 7-iron. The ball rattled the flagstick and came to rest inches from the hole.

“I was thinking hole-in-one because I have never had one and I’ve always said I wanted one against a good player in a USGA event,” said Port.

Although she didn’t record the ace, she did hold the lead heading to No. 18. After Port missed her 5-footer for par, Grimes had a chance to force extra holes but missed her 3-foot par putt.

“It just got away from me,” said Grimes, who was playing in the quarterfinals for the fourth consecutive year. “I didn’t quite expect it to be that fast. I was playing it inside left and it got so fast that it just left me.”

Port, a mother of two children who works as a teacher and coach, doesn’t play as much competitive golf as she once did. She’s obviously pleased to return to the semifinals for the first time since 2002, when she was runner-up to Kathy Hartwiger.

“To still be competitive and still balance everything I am balancing, it’s just a testimony to the great game of golf,” said Port. “It’s encouraging to me to still be playing good golf and still have a lot of things going. Plus, it would be great because no one has won four.”

Port’s semifinal opponent will be Postillion, who needed no such comeback against Joan Higgins, 51, of Glendora, Calif. Postillion, a two-time Women’s Mid-Amateur runner-up and a member at Desert Forest, won five consecutive holes, from the seventh through No. 11, and cruised to a 5-and-4 victory.

It will be the first time Port and Postillion have met in match play since Port earned a 2-and-1 victory in the final of the 1996 Women’s Mid-Amateur at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif.

The U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur continues with the semifinal matches Wednesday afternoon and concludes with Thursday’s 18-hole final.

The U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur is one of 13 championships conducted annually by the United States Golf Association each year, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.

Story written by Beth Murrison of USGA Media Relations. For questions or comments, contact her at bmurrison@usga.org.

Carefree, Ariz. – Results following Wednesday’s quarterfinal round of match play at the 2007 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship at the 6,208-yard, par-73 Desert Forest Golf Club:

Round of 8

Upper Bracket

Meghan Bolger, Haddonfield, N.J. (152) def. Dawn Woodard, Franklin, Tenn. (144), 1 up

Lisa McGill, Philadelphia, Pa. (160) def. Anna Schultz, Rockwall, Texas (155), 19 holes

Lower Bracket

Ellen Port, St Louis, Mo. (161) def. Virginia Grimes, Meridian, Miss. (146), 1 up

Kerry Postillion, Burr Ridge, Ill. (159) def. Joan Higgins, Glendora, Calif. (161), 5 and 4

Carefree, Ariz. – Pairings for Wednesday’s semifinal round of match play at the 2007 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship at the 6,208-yard, par-73 Desert Forest Golf Club:

Round of 4

Upper Bracket

1:15 p.m.          Meghan Bolger, Haddonfield, N.J. (152) vs. Lisa McGill, Philadelphia, Pa. (160)

Lower Bracket

1:30 p.m.          Ellen Port, St Louis, Mo. (161) vs. Kerry Postillion, Burr Ridge, Ill. (159)