Women's Mid-Amateur Blog

Hole 17: par 4, 394 yards 

Both players hit down the right side of the fairway and were left with tough angles to the green. Leach was about 200 yards from the back hole location and needed to take relief from casual water. Port had 190 yards to the flagstick and also took relief. Leach made a big shot and hit the rough, just short of the green and to the right. Her pitch came to 8 feet from the hole. Port found the leftside rough, 50 yards from the hole. Her pitch was 15 feet short, leaving her  a tricky ridge running diagonally through her line. Port's putt was just short and conceded for bogey. Putting to stay in the championship, Leach just missed her putt to the right. The halved hole gave the win to Ellen Port.

Port wins, 2 and 1  

Hole 16: par 3, 147 yards 

Leach had the honor and hit 30 feet right, hole high. Port was a half-club long and dropped 20 feet away, Both players were on the fringe. Leach lagged her birdie putt to 2 feet for a conceded par. Port's putt to win the hole and the championship just slid by, but she proceeds to the 17th 2 up and dormie.

Port, 2 up and dormie 

 Hole 15: par 5, 486 yards 

Both players were in the fairway, but Port to the right and Leach to the left. Port had to take relief from casual water. Leach was 85 yards away from a layup, and Port shot to 70. Leach hit a nice third shot to 6 feet, but Port came right back and knocked hers to 1 foot. Leach conceded Port's birdie and promptly converted her own birdie putt to halve another hole. This was the second hole of the match halved with birdies - the par-4 third was also halved with 3s.

Port, 2 up 

Hole 14: par 4, 392 yards 

The 14th tee has been moved up from the morning round due to standing water in the landing area. Crews are hard at work ahead of the players, squeegeeing the fairways. Port and Leach were both on the fairway off the tee, Port with 120 to the hole and Leach 115. Both players were onto the green in two. Port was 40 feet away, and Leach 10 feet below the hole. After a tough speed judgment, Port's birdie attempt stopped 3 feet short. Leach was not as successful with her speed and her birdie putt came up short as well. The hole was halved with pars.

Port, 2 up  

Hole 13: par 3, 194 yards 

Port hit her tee shot just off the right side of the green, about 25 feet from the hole. Leach made the green, below the hole and just inside of Port. Amazingly, the sun has poked through the clouds following our 30-minute downpour. The players cleared some leaves and pine needles that fell onto the green during the storm. Port putted 7 feet short, and Leach was 4 feet short. Port missed her short putt, and Leach knocked a hole off her deficit by converting her par attempt.

Port, 2 up  

Hole 12: par 4, 332 yards 

The rain has picked up tremendously, and we are in the midst of a heavy shower. The 12th is playing in to the wind today. Both drove to the right, Leach finding the area to the right of the fairway bunkers 200 yards from the hole and Port finding a bunker 15 yards closer. Leach laid up to less than 80 yards from the hole, and Port advanced to the rough at about the same distance. Leach left her third shot 30 feet short, and Port hit to 10 feet. After Port's shot, play was suspended at 3:22 p.m. due to a dangerous weather situation. Play resumed at 4 p.m. Leach lagged her par putt to 3 feet and Port made hers to win the hole.

Port, 3 up  

UPDATE: Play has resumed at 4 p.m. with the players on the 12th green. 

Play has been suspended at 3:22 p.m. in the middle of the 12th hole due to dangerous weather conditions. 

Hole 11: par 4, 332 yards 

The rain and wind are really starting to pick up. Port's drive went into the left rough, about 105 yards from the hole. Leach was on the right side of the fairway, about 95 yards away. Port hit to 15 feet behind the hole. Leach came up just short of the green and chipped to 3 feet. Port converted her par, and Leach's was conceded.

Port, 2 up  

Hole 10: par 4, 365 yards 

Both were again down the middle of the fairway. Leach had 170 yards to the hole and Port had 155. Leach hit over the green into another bad lie, with the ball below her feet and sitting down in the rough. Port was short and in a bunker, but with a good uphill lie. A great shot by Leach took her to 5 feet, and Port blasted out of the bunker to a similar distance. Leach putted first, and her ball just missed to the right edge. Port converted par to win the hole.

Port, 2 up 

Hole 9: par 4, 290 yards 

Both players found the right side of the fairway, with a good angle to the left hole location. Port had 105 yards to the hole, and Leach had 85. Port's approach came to 25 feet and Leach was just short of the green, but on a similar line. She putted for 3 feet, and moved her marker at Port's request. Port hit to 1 foot, and her par was conceded. Leach replaced her marker, and made her putt to halve the hole. There are a few sprinkles in the area, but the large, dark clouds seems to be skirting Bayvile. Gallery members are heading to their cars for umbrellas, just in case.

Port, 1 up 

Hole 8: par 4, 384 yards 

Port was in the fairway off the tee, but Leach drove into the trees with no shot to the green. She punched out to the fairway, with 90 yards to the hole. Port was 165 to the hole and hit the middle of the green, 35 feet from the hole. Leach hit her third to 20 feet, while Port lagged hers to 5 feet. Leach sent her par putt 3 feet past. Port's 5-footer lipped out, and Leach converted her bogey putt to halve the hole.

Port, 1 up  

Hole 7: par 4, 410 yards 

Both players were down the middle of the fairway. Leach had 210 yards to the hole, while Port had 195. Leach hooked her approach and hit the cart path. Her ball ended up in some patchy rough over a mound, with only the top of the flagstick visible. Port just missed the green to the right, but had a good lie. Leach's pitch landed soft and ended up 15 feet from the hole. Port chipped to 6 feet. Leach grazed the left edge of the hole, and her bogey was conceded. Port made her birdie putt to win the hole and regain her lead.

Port, 1 up 

Hole 6: par 5, 469 yards 

Leach found the middle of the fairway off the tee. Port barely missed a bunker down the right side and got a favorable bounce. Leach laid up well, and Port had a good lie for her second shot. Port advanced, but was not able to escape the rough. Leach also found the rough, 50 yards from the hole. Port was in native grasses, just as far from the hole but with a difficult lie. It was deemed unplayable and she took a two-club-length drop for a one-stroke penalty. She pitched to 15 feet, followed by Leach to 30 feet. Leach's birdie putt was 5 feet short. Port, who was putting for par due to the penalty, sent her putt 5 feet past. Leach converted her par putt to win the hole and square the match.

All square 

Hole 5: par 3, 113 yards 

Leach had the honor off the tee for the first time in the match. The breeze is starting to really pick up, and is right in the players’ faces. Leach had 20 feet for par, Port 10. Leach left her birdie just short and her par was conceded. Port also missed and her par was conceded as well.

Port, 1 up 

Hole 4: par 5, 516 yards 

Port ended up in a greenside bunker and missed her exit to the right. Leach found the green, 30 feet away. Port's ball was in an awkward position below her feet, and she pitched 12 feet past the hole. Leach's uphill putt was 3 feet short. Port missed her par putt, and Leach won the hole with a par.

Port, 1 up 

Hole 3: par 4, 370 yards 

The tee was moved back on this hole, with a long carry to the fairway. Both found the fairway, with Port in the center with 150 yards to go and Leach to the left with 125. Both players were on the green in two. Leach converted a 12-foot birdie putt, and Port knocked in her own 8-foot attempt to halve the hole.

Port, 2 up 

Hole 2: par 3, 172 yards 

There is a nice gallery of about 40 spectators following the match, including quarterfinalist and past champion Virginia Grimes. Port hit her tee shot just over the green. Leach found the green, 30 feet from the hole, but sent her birdie putt past the hole. Port chipped onto the green and made her par attempt. Leach's miss gave Port another hole.

Port, 2 up 

Hole 1: par 4, 371 yards 

Port and Leach gave each other hugs before approaching the first tee. Port had the honors, and both players found the fairway off the tee. Leach was 185 yards shy of the green, Port at 175. Leach missed the green short right in the rough, with a difficult lie with the ball above her feet. Port's approach made the green, about 40 feet from the hole. Leach pitched to 20 feet, and Port lagged her birdie putt to 3 feet. Leach missed her par attempt and her bogey was conceded. Port then made her par putt to take a 1-up lead.

Port, 1 up 

---

Well, it's finally here. Ellen Port and Martha Leach are meeting in this afternoon's Women's Mid-Amateur Championship 18-hole final. After Saturday's terrible weather, it sure seemed like this day would never come.

We have an exciting meeting between two very deserving players. Port took this title in 1995, 1996 and 2000, while Leach won the championship in 2009.

Weather is a concern for the afternoon. It is in the low 80s outside, with a very sticky feel to the air. Our on-site meteorologist hopes that any storms will wait until later this afternoon and let us get in this championship match.

Hunki Yun is out walking with the match, and we'll keep you updated with everything that happens here at Bayville. Refresh this page for all the updates.

For the second consecutive day, play was suspended at the Women's Mid-Amateur due to darkness. The horns blew at 7:05 p.m., and players were allowed to either mark their balls or finish the hole they were playing. Play will resume at 8 a.m. Tuesday morning, and the four matches that had yet to tee off will do so in nine-minute intervals.

Eight matches reached their completion prior to the suspension. Defending champion Meghan Stasi rolled to an easy 6-and-5 victory over Annette Gaiotti. Stasi will face Helene Beat, who defeated 2010 Senior Women's Amateur runner-up Alexandria Frazier, 5 and 4.

Defending runner-up and local favorite Carol Robertson was eliminated by Mina Hardin, the 2010 Senior Women's Amateur champion. Hardin, who traveled to Bayville fresh off her runner-up finish on Thursday at this year's Senior Women's Amateur, won four consecutive holes to take a 4-up lead by the seventh hole and won, 4 and 3.

Also winning was Noreen Mohler, the 2010 USA Curtis Cup Team captain, who defeated 2004 Women's Mid-Amateur champion Corey Weworski, 4 and 3. Mohler and Hardin will meet in tomorrow afternoon's second round.

 

Some interesting match-play notes:

The average age of the match-play field is 42.5 years of age, down slightly from the 43.5 average of the stroke-play field. The championship's oldest and youngest competitors - Paige Bromen (25) and Deby Anderson (60) - both advanced.

Several players have birthdays over the remaining days of the championship and could give themselves a wonderful birthday present by winning. Ellen Port and Sydney Wells will both celebrate their 50th birthdays on Sept. 21, while Leigh Klasse will celebrate her 52nd on Sept. 22, the day of the championship final.

Fourteen players are between the ages of 25 and 29. Twelve players are between the ages of 30 and 39, while 17 players are between the ages of 40 and 49. Twenty players are between the ages of 50 and 59, and there is one player at age 60.

There are 27 states represented in the match-play field: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. California has the most representatives with eight, followed by Texas with seven.

There are five countries represented: Canada, Japan, Mexico, Sri Lanka and the United States.

Six past champions remain in the field: Carolyn Creekmore (2004 Senior Women's Amateur); Virginia Grimes (1994 Women's Mid-Amateur); Martha Leach (2009 Women's Mid-Amateur); Port (1995, 1996, 2000 Women's Mid-Amateur); Meghan Stasi (2006, 2007, 2010 Women's Mid-Amateur); and Corey Weworski (2004 Women's Mid-Amateur).

There are also several team champions, Curtis Cup Team members and captains remaining: Robin Burke (1998 Curtis Cup Team); Laura Coble (2005, 2009 Women's State Team); Patricia Cornett (1978, 1988 Curtis Cup Team; 2012 Curtis Cup captain); Grimes (1998, 2000, 2006 Curtis Cup Team; 1997 Women's State Team); Klasse (2001 Women's State Team); Noreen Mohler (1978 Curtis Cup Team; 2010 Curtis Cup captain); Port (1994, 1996 Curtis Cup Team); Thuhashini Selvaratnam (2007 Women's State Team); and Stasi (2008 Curtis Cup Team).

Playing in her first USGA championship, Lisa Cook of Noblesville, Ind., couldn't overcome a first-round 88 and failed to qualify for match play. Had she made it, she would have matched her husband, Kenny, who shot 142 in stroke-play qualifying at the U.S. Mid-Amateur and is playing his first match later today against Michael Castleforte.

Lisa is headed back home to Indiana and plans to fly to Houston if Kenny reaches the quarterfinals at Shadow Hawk Golf Club. "It think there's a good chance he will make it," said Lisa. "He has been playing really well this summer."

-- Hunki Yun

The playoff for the final match-play position is complete. Amber Marsh Elliott, Julie Massa and Claudia Pilot each made 5 on their first playoff hole, giving the victory to 2004 Senior Women's Amateur champion Carolyn Creekmore. Creekmore will meet stroke-play medalist Brenda Pictor at 4:28 p.m.

There is a six-way playoff for the final match-play spot. The playoff will start on the 367-yard 12th, a tricky hole with water running down the entire left side from tee to green. If additional holes are necessary, the playoff will follow the rest of the course to the 18th.

The six players vying for the opportunity to face medalist Brenda Pictor in the first round are Mickey Burgess, Carolyn Creekmore, Amber Marsh Elliott, Julie Massa, Claudia Pilot and Lisa Schlesinger.

The sextet includes two individual USGA champions. Marsh Elliott captured the 2003 Women's Mid-Amateur and Creekmore was victorious in the 2004 Senior Women's Amateur. Pilot was part of the Minnesota team that won the 2001 Women's State Team.

The first hole has been completed:
Creekmore: 4
Schlesinger: 5
Burgess: 6

 

Carol Robertson, the 2010 Women's Mid-Amateur runner-up, received a two-stroke penalty during the second round of stroke-play qualifying. On the 469-yard sixth hole at Bayville Golf Club, she and a fellow competitor both hit their tee shots into a bunker to the right of the fairway.

The other player, whose ball was about 20 feet behind and to the left of Robertson's, played first. As Robertson was settling over her shot, she heard raking behind her -- her caddie was cleaning up the footsteps left by the fellow competitor.

Robertson alerted the Committee, which assessed her a two-stroke penalty under Rule 13-4, which prevents testing the conditions of a hazard.

There was a chance that Robertson could have been exempt from the penalty under Decision 13-4/19, which allows for the restoration of a bunker if there is a reasonable possibility that the disturbed area could affect a subsequent stroke.

But given the position of the disturbed area relative to Robertson's ball and the distance to the bunker's lip, about 20 yards away, the Committee judged that there wasn't a reasonable possibility that such a scenario could take place.

"It's un unfortunate penalty," said USGA Rules Official David Staebler, "but we are confined to apply the Rule in accordance to the guidance we have in the Rules and in the Decisions. And this Decision is pretty clear.

"As soon as her caddie raked the bunker, Carol asked the nearby Rules official to come over. This is the classic example of the player wanting to do the right thing. It didn't make accepting the penalty any easier."

With the two-stroke penalty, Robertson shot 77 for a 36-hole total of 152, which put her well within the cut line of qualifying for match play. Had this breach occurred in match play, the penalty would have been a loss of hole.

-- Hunki Yun

It's a beautiful day here at Bayville and the ladies are back on the golf course to enjoy it. Play resumed at 7:55 a.m. under sunny skies and with light breezes. Hopefully, we will have this perfect weather for the remainder of the championship.

 

The second round of stroke play at the 2011 Women's Mid-Amateur was suspended at 6:58 p.m. due to darkness. As the situation was deemed non-dangerous, players were allowed to finish the hole they were playing before leaving the club for the night.

Play will resume at 8 a.m. Monday, followed by the match-play cut, a playoff (if needed) and the first round of match play.

42 out of 131 players were able to finish their second rounds, including first-round leader Brenda Pictor, 56, of Marietta, Ga. Pictor stuck her 80-yard approach to the par-5 18th to 1 foot for birdie, and she finished with an overall score of 2-over 146.

“Bogeys are good out here today,” said Pictor, “and you’ve got to make a couple birdies to make up for it. It was a lot of fun to be able to get that last one to get it back under par on the back side.”

Pictor’s score was good for the clubhouse lead for stroke-play medalist honors. She was followed by Jennifer Lucas, 30, of Knoxville, Tenn., who finished at 5-over 149. Lucas had been vying for her second Women's Mid-Amateur stroke-play medal, having tied for the honors with three other golfers in 2009 at Golden Hills Golf & Turf Club in Ocala, Fla.

Also finishing their first rounds were defending champion Meghan Stasi (10-over 154) and defending runner-up Carol Robertson (8-over 152).

Virginia Grimes, the 1998 Women’s Mid-Amateur champion who was in second following the first round, posted an up-and-down first nine holes of her second round. She carded three bogeys and two birdies and was one over par for the round at the turn, though her score is considered unofficial as her round is not yet complete.

Grimes will finish her round Monday morning, along with Tara Joy-Connelly, who turned at even par for her second round (also an unofficial score). Leigh Klasse, tied with Joy-Connelly for third at two over par following round one, did not start her second round and is scheduled to tee off at 8:20 a.m. 86 other players will also record their final stroke-play scores on Monday.

The wind kicked up as the day progressed. Gusts of up to 30 miles per hour were common through the morning hours, though they did abate some in the early afternoon. But as darkness fell, the winds again began to howl. It felt more like a mid-November night than it did mid-September.

 

Walking around this afternoon at Bayville, I was struck by the conspicuous absence of a piece of equipment that has been receiving a lot of attention lately. In fact, I only saw one player using a long putter. And two of the favorites -- three-time champion Meghan Stasi and 2010 runner-up Carol Robertson -- were wielding standard-length flatsticks.

Granted, I only observed about 20 groups -- 60 players -- but it is interesting to note how this major topic of discussion on the pro tours is pretty much a non-factor in this top tier of amateur golf.

-- Hunki Yun

 

Cutler Robinson, Bayville Golf Club's director of golf course operations, had a problem when he arrived at the club on Sunday to prepare the course for the scheduled resumption of stroke-play qualifying at 8 a.m. 

"The coffeemaker stopped working," he said. "That's the most important piece of equipment at 5 in the morning."

Thankfully, the lack of caffeine for Robinson, his crew and USGA agronomist Darin Bevard was the only hiccup as they prepared the course following the 1.6 inches of rain that fell on Bayville, and the 6,187-yard layout was ready for the restart.

And with the forecast for Sunday calling for occasional light rain and even a possible appearance by the sun in the afternoon, the course will dry out gradually. A northeast wind ranging from 15 to 30 miles per hour will keep temperatures in the 60s, further help wring out the course and continue to challenge the field. However, the weather is relatively benign compared to yesterday, which offered what nearly every player considered to be the most difficult conditions in which they have ever competed.

"It's playable today," said Dawn Woodard, who played four holes this morning and finished with a score of 79. "It's a little wet out there, but it's not anything like it was yesterday. It was just a survival. There were some groups with all three players who were having to take relief from casual water on every shot. And it's not raining sideways on you, so you can actually think. Today, you can stand there, figure out your shot, figure our your yardage."

-- Hunki Yun

 

Play was suspended here at Bayville at 12:45 p.m. due to the constant rain that has pelted the golf course all day. As the suspension was for unplayable conditions, a non-dangerous situation, players are allowed to finish playing the hole they were on.

The best nugget from last night's Players' Dinner came from Dena Nowotny, the first Women's Mid-Amateur Committee chairman. She told the crowd of 400 that when the Women's Mid-Am was started in 1987, Judy Bell, then a member of the Executive Committee, wanted the inaugural championship to be played at a first-rate venue and suggested Nowotny's home course, Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.

Nowotny didn't think that Southern Hills, which had hosted the 1958 and 1977 U.S. Opens (it would later hold a third U.S. Open in 2001), would be willing to give up the club for a new championship. So she decided to hold it in October during the week of the Red River Rivalry, the annual football game between the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas. She knew play would be sparse since most members would be in Dallas for the game.

It turned out to be a good week for all parties. The No. 1-ranked Sooners won, and the inaugural Women's Mid-Amateur made a successful debut, with 320 entries.
 -- Hunki Yun


 

Welcome to the 2011 U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur Championship at Bayville Golf Club in Virginia Beach, Va. We wish we could welcome you to a sunny Bayville, but Mother Nature is making her presence known today. The players are battling their way through heavy rains and strong winds of up to 20 miles per hour. The USGA staff and volunteers and Bayville staff are certainly to be commended for keeping this championship moving and on time.

Christina Lance and Hunki Yun will be here all week, bringing you all the information you need to know about these 132 championship players. This is truly a celebration, marking the 25th anniversary of the Women's Mid-Amateur. The first championship was conducted in 1987, and the inaugural Women's Mid-Amateur Committee chairman, Dena Nowotny, made a special appearance at last night's Players' Dinner. It was a night of honoring all the past champions in the room, and there was much applause to be had.