Kathy Hartwiger

Kathy Hartwiger, 36, of Birmingham, Ala., won four consecutive holes with one-putt greens and hung on to beat three-time champion Ellen Port, 41, of St. Louis, Mo., in the final of the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship at Eugene (Ore.) Country Club, 2-up.

Hartwiger, was 1 down after seven holes, but took the next four holes with two birdies and two pars to stand 3 up after the 11th hole. Port won holes 15 and 16 before Hartwiger close the match with a winning par 4 on the last hole.

Hartwiger had reached the quarterfinals twice before (1996 and 1998), and tried to downplay the significance of reaching the 18-hole final.

"I spent all week making this something not so great because I didn't want to be disappointed," said Hartwiger, the mother of a 3-year-old daughter, Erin, and 1-year-old son, Ben.

"After having kids, I really wasn't interested in competitive golf anymore," said Hartwiger, whose husband is an agronomist for the U.S. Golf Association. "But my husband kept asking me if I had played my best golf yet. Well, I played my best golf today."

A three-time state Amateur champion, Hartwiger reached the final by handily winning her previous five matches. She started the final by winning two of the first three holes, but Port gained the lead momentarily by winning three of the next four holes. From there, Hartwiger's putter stole the show.

"She made everything she putted," said Port, who watched as Hartwiger needed just 28 putts for her round. "I didn't make a putt all week and it caught up with me," Port continued. "I didn't give myself a chance. Yes, it's disappointing. You don't get here often. It wasn't meant to be. But I'm happy for her."

The mother of two children under the age of six, Port is a high school teacher and field hockey coach, and recent winner of her state Amateur, which she has now won five times. She won the Mid-Amateur title in 1995, 1996 and 2000 and was seeking to become the 12th women to win at least four USGA titles. She lost her third-round match a year ago.

Port defeated Lisa Desimone, 29, of Carmel, Calif., in her semifinal match with a birdie on the fourth extra hole (22nd hole overall). In the other semifinal, Hartwiger won three of the first four holes and built a 5-up lead before closing out Lyn Nelson, 43, of Half Moon Bay, Calif., 7 and 5.

"Whatever happens, I've done great," said Hartwiger before her final match. "I was a bit shaky in my qualifying rounds, but I have been playing better with each day."

She saved her best for last.

Hartwiger had qualified for match play with a 36-hole total of 160. The cut for match play came at 19-over-par 163 with a six-way playoff to determine the final spot.

Port claimed a share of the medalist honors for the third consecutive year, posting a 6-over total of 150. She shared top honors with Lara Tennant of Portland, Ore., who was the women's golf coach at the University of Oregon in Eugene in 1995-96, and 57-year old Taffy Brower of Boynton Beach, Fla.

Among those advancing to match play was seven-time USGA champion Anne Sander, 65, of Seattle Wash., and six-time USGA champion Carol Semple Thompson, 53, of Sewickely, Pa. Defending champion Laura Shanahan-Rowe, 42, of Bedford N.H., easily made match play, but lost her second-round match.

Two-time cancer survivor Barbara Lilley, 38, of West Palm Beach, Fla., also advanced with a total of 158. She had chemotherapy to battle Hodgkin's cancer in the early 1980s and then had surgery to beat breast cancer in December 2001.