Fort Myers, Fla. – Even with a bogey on the last hole, Leigh Klasse, 51, of St. Anthony, Minn., fired a 4-under-par 68 to lead early finishers in the second round of stroke-play qualifying at the USGA Senior Women’s Amateur at the 5,862-yard, par-72 Long Mean Course at Fiddlesticks Country Club.
Klasse reeled off five birdies before finishing with a lone bogey for the 68. Her score ties the second-lowest score in the 49-year history of this national championship. Betty Probasco finished a stroke lower in the second round of the 1991 championship.
Klasse started her round on the back nine and birdied the 10th after hitting an 8-iron to within four feet of the hole. She birdied the 12th hole on a 6-foot putt. At the 375-yard 16th, Klasse nailed a 5-hybrid club to within two feet of the hole and tapped it in for another birdie to go three under par.
A 6-foot putt on the par-5 first hole gave Klasse a birdie 4 and she added a birdie at the seventh when she holed another 6-footer. She was five under par with one hole to play. At the 319-yard ninth, Klasse hit her 6-iron approach shot some 45 feet to the right of the hole and navigated the slick, downhill surface in three putts for a bogey.
I was just thinking about getting down in two, she said after the round. Today I was trying to get on the greens and two-putt for par and go on. If I made a birdie, it was a bonus, but I was hitting my irons really nicely today.
Klasse was a member of Minnesota’s winning 2001 team in the USGA Women’s State Team Championship. She has never won a USGA individual championship in 32 attempts since 1981.
With half the field still on the course, Klasse is the leader in the clubhouse for medalist honors in stroke-play qualifying. She was asked about the start of match play on Monday after the field is cut to 64 players.
Klasse grinned and said, I love match play!
Results
Fort Myers, Fla. – Early scores from the second round of stroke-play qualifying in the 49th USGA Senior Women’s Amateur at the 5,862-yard, par 72 Long Mean Course at Fiddlesticks Country Club.
Leigh Klasse, St Anthony, Minn. - 76-68--144
Patty Moore, Charlotte, N.C. - 76-72--148
Brenda Pictor, Marietta, Ga. - 73-76--149
Mina Hardin, Ft. Worth, Texas - 74-75--149
Claudia Pilot, Austin, Minn. - 74-76--150
Andrea Kraus, Baltimore, Md. - 81-70--151
Anna Schultz, Rockwall, Texas - 79-73--152
Carolyn Creekmore, Dallas, Texas - 79-73--152
Kim Eaton, Greeley, Colo. - 74-78--152
Robyn Puckett, Irvine, Calif. - 79-74--153
Carol Semple Thompson, Sewickley, Pa. - 78-77--155
Mary Gale, Worcester, Mass. - 77-78--155
Lea Anne Brown, Mt Pleasant, S.C. - 79-76--155
Patricia Cornett, Mill Valley, Calif. - 79-76--155
Lisa McGill, Philadelphia, Pa. - 77-78--155
Cindy Gilkeson, Sugarland, Texas - 78-78--156
Lisa Schlesinger, Laytonsville, Md. - 75-81--156
Denise Desilet, Wichita, Kan. - 75-81--156
Deborah Jamgochian, Greenwich, Conn. - 75-81--156
Mary Jane Hiestand, Naples, Fla. - 80-77--157
Ann Lahey, Kentfield, Calif. - 76-82--158
Teresa Cleland, Syracuse, N.Y. - 79-79--158
Connie Shorb, York, Pa. - 77-81--158
Diana Chancellor, St Louis, Mo. - 82-77--159
Annette Gaiotti, Salt Lake City, Utah - 83-77--160
Sheila Haynes, Madison, Miss. - 73-87--160
Ginny Burkey, Fircrest, Wash. - 81-79--160
Anne Carr, Seattle, Wash. - 78-82--160
Cindy Bryniarski, Sun City West, Ariz. - 81-80--161
Laura Carson, Lake Bluff, Ill. - 81-81--162
Martha Lang, Birmingham, Ala. - 86-76--162
Carol Sarkissian, Covina, Calif. - 77-86--163
Joanne Catlin, Ashburnham, Mass. - 82-81--163
Marianne Towersey, Pebble Beach, Calif. - 83-81--164
Jeannie Lallensack, Tucson, Ariz. - 83-81--164
Barbara Byrnes, Mesa, Ariz. - 83-82--165
Cheryll Damphouse, Canada - 82-83--165
Kerry Rutan, Ambler, Pa. - 80-85--165
Barbara Berkmeyer, St Louis, Mo. - 85-81--166
Marcia Fisher, Canby, Ore. - 82-84--166
Linda Dillon, Winter Garden, Fla. - 84-82--166
Georgia Peirce, Boston, Mass. - 81-86--167
Karen Ferree, Hilton Head Island, S.C. - 84-83--167
Kim Clarke, Newton, N.C. - 86-81--167
Laurie Steenrod, Aurora, Colo. - 83-84--167
Nannette Wheelis, Waco, Texas - 85-82--167
Patty Kimball, Scottsdale, Ariz. - 87-81--168
Linda McMillan, Ormond Beach, Fla. - 87-81--168
Claudia Cenko, Beverly Hills, Mich. - 86-82--168
Marylou Henderson, Canada - 84-85--169
Mary Helen McElreath, Augusta, Ga. - 85-84--169
Denise Kieffer, University Place, Wash. - 83-87--170
Deborah Hughes, Denver, Colo. - 85-86--171
Lili McMillan, Orono, Minn. - 86-85--171
Rita Albertson, Scottsdale, Ariz. - 87-85--172
Marie Miyashiro, Tucson, Ariz. - 89-84--173
Mary Flynn, Eden Prairie, Minn. - 85-89--174
Carina Watkins, Baldwinsville, N.Y. - 86-89--175
Arline Hoffman, Alexandria, Va. - 84-93--177
Kathy Malpass, Evergreen, Colo. - 94-83--177
Denise Martorana, Sag Harbor, N.Y. - 86-93--179
Keiki-Dawn Izumi, Kaneohe, Hawaii - 88-93--181
Bonnie Grizzard, North Palm Bch, Fla. - 89-93--182
Louise Matthews, St Louis, Mo. - 92-93--185
Kibbe Reilly, Providence, R.I. - 95-96--191