Women's Mid-Amateur Blog

The final matchup is an intriguing one. On one side, you have first-time participant Carol Robertson making a name for herself. On the other, there's the polished Meghan Stasi. Polished to mean that she's been in this position before. Stasi is aware of what's on the line. Should she win, she'll join Sarah LeBrun Ingram and Ellen Port atop the list of most victories (three).

Kerry Postillion stepped on the first tee Tuesday morning, but her mind was on Austin, Texas. That's because a gunman had allegedly opened fire on the University of Texas campus, where her daughter, Samantha, plays golf. The USGA allowed Postillion to take along her cell phone just in case her daughter called. On the third hole, Postillion received word that her daughter had been practicing off-site and was safe.

     

 This item was filed from esteemed colleague Andrew Blair of the Virginia State Golf Association:

 

For Carol Robertson of Virginia Beach, Va., it’s never felt so good to be nervous.

Battling some early nerves, Robertson began her first match in an amateur golf championship since 2006 by dropping the first two holes to first-round opponent Samantha Bartron of Boulder, Colo., on Monday.

The fifth low qualifier for match play, Robertson answered to return the encounter to all-square with a birdie at the par-5 fourth hole. She never trailed the rest of the way en route to scoring a 4-and-3 victory. Settling into the duel as it progressed, Robertson opened up an all-square match by winning four of five holes from Nos. 6-10. Robertson was reinstated as an amateur on Sept. 5, and qualified for the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur in sectional qualifying two days later. The former Futures Tour player admitted she is re-acclimating herself to competitive golf.

“Nerves got me a little on the first couple of holes. It’s been a year since my last [championship] besides the qualifier, and you forget how ‘alive’ you feel with something on the line,” said Robertson, the 2006 Virginia State Golf Association Women’s Amateur champion. “I settled down and laughed about it, because it is funny. This happens. It’s golf. I settled down and started playing great.”

Robertson credited newfound caddie Zac Potter, a former Wichita State University golfer, with helping to ease the transition. Robertson carried her own bag during stroke-play qualifying on Saturday and Sunday, but Potter’s player missed match play and the two complemented each other in negotiating the course’s subtleties and in handling the nerves that accompany match play.

“He really helped me stay positive and can really read the greens,” Robertson said. “He’s played here and is real familiar with the course. It was awesome having him on the bag.”

Robertson shot 74-76 in stroke-play qualifying and said she felt reinvigorated about playing the game again, especially on the national stage after spending two-plus years on the Futures Tour from 2007-09.

“I’m playing some of the best golf I’ve ever played in my life. I’m playing better now than I ever did on the Futures Tour,” Robertson said. “My heart is really in it out here. I do – I have high expectations. I feel like I’m the only person that can get in my way. I hope I can take it one match at a time, sneak in some birdies and minimize mistakes. There are some really good players here.”    

Robertson will face Alexandra Casi of East Palestine, Ohio, in Tuesday’s round of 32 in a match set to begin at 11:09 a.m. CDT.

     

We had a few matches end early. First, Mina Hardin disposed of Michelle Griffith, 8 and 6. Griffith is the daughter of touring professional and multi U.S. Senior Open champion Allen Doyle.

 

Moments later, Jennifer Lucas dispatched Abbey Reif-Hornsby, 8 and 6. Lucas jumped out to a 5-up lead through the first six holes.

 

"I played a really steady round," said Lucas. Her best sequence came on No. 5 when she saved par from a bunker. She sank a 15-foot putt.

 

Finally, Robin Burke eliminated Kay Daniel, 5 and 4. Burke went 4 up through the first six holes before Daniel clawed her way back, reducing the deficit to two holes. Burke carded seven bogeys and felt fortunate to get the victory. She won two holes with bogeys.

 

"I hit a lot of bad shots. It was not a good ball-striking day. Neither of us played very well. But in match play, you're always going to have one bad round. Hopefully this was it for me," said Burke.

 

Asked what poor ball-striking does to the confidence, Burke said, "Your confidence feels like someone stepped on you like a grape."

 

Burke will face Hardin in Tuesday's second round.

 

The six-for-five spots playoff has been completed. Those to move on were:

 

Brown

Bartron

Elliott Marsh

Higgins

Hare-Rouillard

The nine-for-six spots playoff has dwindled to six-for-five places before play was called.

 

The six left are:

Arnold

Bartron

Brown

Higgins

Hare-Rouillard

Marsh Elliott

 

Diane Lang made it into the field with a birdie 4. Judy Miller and Brenda Pictor were eliminated with bogey 6s.

And we have a nine-for-six spots playoff between:

 

Joan Higgins

Judy Miller

Shannon Hare Rouillard

Lea Anne Brown

Stacey Arnold

Samantha Bartron

Brenda Pictor

Diane Lang

Amber Marsh Elliott

Our weather forecaster on-site wasn't kidding when he said to bring a jacket today. After enjoying temperatures close to 80 the last few days, it's a balmy 53 degrees and overcast. However, the better news is that rain is not in the forecast.

 

Have to hand it to Alexandra Casi. She played a near-flawless round Saturday. With her boyfriend, Paul Wackerly, on the bag, she's on the receiving end of valuable advice. Wackerly played on the Nationwide Tour in 2006. The two met, naturally, on the golf course. Wackerly had been a teaching pro at the same club Casi worked. On Saturday, he helped her with sight lines and reading undulations on the greens. That's not all, Casi said. Wackerly knows her game and how to keep her calm or get her motivated.

Play resumed at 6:12 p.m. CDT.

Players are warming up on the putting range. Looks like officials are moving them into position on the course.

USGA officials are examining the course. The storm clouds are lifting, but some areas of the course are saturated. All of the players have been brought in, but now the officials need to make decisions. There was standing water on the 18th hole and bunkers were full, requiring them to be pumped.

Our weather forecaster on the premises said we're likely to be hit by a trail of storms in the next half hour or so. So far we're keeping our fingers crossed, but some nasty-looking clouds have moved in.

 

Quick update: play was suspended at 3:58 CDT. No word when play will resume.

Another gorgeous day at Wichita Country Club. Not a cloud in sight, although the forecast is calling for a chance of a shower later in the afternoon.

 

Defending champion Martha Leach, who had an 8:30 a.m. tee time off No. 1, was her jovial self. As she made her way up the second fairway, she bantered with fellow competitors Abby Reif-Hornsby and Holly Bare. When Bare stuck her approach shot to within 15 feet of the hole, Leach bellowed "great shot!"

 

Leach is quite the baker too, having delivered a homemade carrot cake to the USGA offices Friday.

As many of the 132 contestants practiced during a magnificent, cloudless day Friday, they had company. McConnell Air Force Base sits off the Wichita Country Club property and aerial demonstrations took place for a couple of hours. All this in preparation for the McConnell Air Force Show Saturday. Planes looped high and low, going in tandem. The sky crackled causing players to pull off shots and watch in awe.

Shannon Rouillard is in her first year as a Rules Associate for the USGA. The former head coach of the University of Oregon ladies golf program, Rouillard qualified for the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur that will begin Saturday at Wichita Country Club. She shared her thoughts about what it’s like being employed by the USGA and playing in one of its national championships.

Life can get in the way for a Mid-Amateur player competing in this championship.  That is what happened to me the past two years while coming off hiatus. 

Between a career, kids, and family, life threw me an “unplayable lie” that I didn’t know how to take relief from.  Golf and competing was the last thing on my mind.  It’s funny how crisis forces us to dig deep from within ourselves in figuring out the next chapter in life. 

For me, my next chapter was literally moving across the country to work for the USGA in Rules and Competitions answering Rules questions.  My near six-month experience thus far has been surreal. I still drive up to the USGA in awe of the fact that I work here now.  It has been a great experience learning the Rules to this degree. I have had a huge learning curve and it is pretty amazing how much more I know now versus six months ago.

Playing in a USGA championship is like no other experience.  For those who compete in tournament golf on a consistent basis compared to those who play in just a few competitions a year, qualifying for a championship is something special.  It means that you are considered one of the best in your demographic; it also provides an opportunity to win a coveted championship and make golf history. 

I felt more pressure this year to qualify for my seventh USGA championship – this one in Wichita, Kan. - because of my USGA affiliation. My USGA ‘family’ has been extremely supportive to the point that I can’t say enough about them.

With a new direction in life and eagerness to compete again, I knew I had it in me to make it to the next stage.  My brother-in-law, Pete, caddied for me in the qualifier. Normally my husband, Tim, would caddie, but my 7-year-old son Brady was not in school yet and someone had to be home to watch the little guy. 

It was one of the most challenging and difficult rounds of golf that I could remember on Aug. 31 at The Bedens Brook Club in Princeton, N.J. To make matters more nerve-racking, my two supervisors - Genger Fahleson and David Staebler - were standing on the 18^th green watching me come in!  They got to see me three-putt for heaven’s sake!  It was very embarrassing to say the least, but I was truly surprised to see them there.

Regardless of how I played, their support meant the world to me. 

After a two-and-a-half-hour wait for the last group to come in, somehow I managed to grab the last spot in a three-hole playoff.    

Qualifying was one thing, finding a consistent place to practice was another.  Moving to a new area, it wasn’t easy locating practice facilities.  I was forced to get creative.  Fortunately for me, the USGA has an amazing putting green (the Pynes Putting Course) that sits behind the Museum.  On my lunch hours, that’s where you could find me as I tried to hone my game.

After a few months, I got word that I could hit balls behind the USGA’s Test Center.  I just needed to shag my own balls. That’s what I had a 7-year-old son for, right?  On plenty of weekends, I would hit balls and Brady would chase after them.  It was like having my own private driving range!   What’s more, my brother-in-law recently became a member at Baltusrol.  I scored being his guest. 

Through a good friend of my husband, I managed a handful of practice sessions at Trump National in nearby Bedminster.  Donna Mummert, Assistant Director, Amateur Status & Rules of Golf and someone who has played in the Women’s Mid-Amateur before, made some phone calls to get me another handful of practice sessions at New Jersey National.

Considering six months ago I didn’t have a single place to practice, I think I did pretty well utilizing the resources I had. My hope is that it pays off next week.