McGill, Jones suffer tough losses in opening round of match play in U.S. Senior Women's Amateur

    Lisa McGill of Sunnybrook Golf Club and Loraine Jones of Merion Golf Club were ousted in the first round of match play in the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Championship at The Lakewood Club in Point Clear, Ala. Sunday, but neither went out without a fight as both matches were decided on the 18^th hole.

   McGill, who carded a pair of 79s in qualifying to make it into the match-play bracket for the third time in five years, got off to a good start in her first-round match with Susan West of Tuscaloosa, Ala., winning the first and third holes to grab a 2-up lead.

   West, however, bounced back, taking the sixth, ninth and 12^th holes to take a 1-up lead. McGill, the Pennsylvania Women’s Senior Amateur champion, came right back, picking up back-to-back wins at the 13^th and 14^th holes to take a 1-up lead with five holes to go.

   West squared the match by winning the 15^th hole and finally pulled out the victory by taking the finishing hole.

   Jones, a senior “rookie” at age 50, drew a tough customer in Pam Kuong of Wellesley Hills, Mass. Kuong was the runnerup in the 2015 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur at Hillwood Country Club in Nashville, Tenn. and was the qualifying medalist in 2018 at the Orchid Island Golf & Beach Club in Vero Beach, Fla.

   Neither player led by more than one hole in the tight contest. Kuong won the fourth hole, but Jones evened the match with a win at six. Kuong picked up a win at the eighth hole and Jones again drew even by taking a win at 10. Kuong again put a nose in front by taking the 13^th hole and Jones answered once more, squaring the match with a win at 14.

   Kuong finally nailed down the victory with a par at the 18^th hole.

   It was certainly an encouraging effort for Jones as she made it into match play in her first trip to the U.S. Women’s Senior Amateur and found out she has what it takes to compete against the top women’s amateur players in the world.

   The third member of the contingent from the Philadelphia area to earn a spot in the match-play bracket, Angela Whitley Coleman of Wilmington, Del., drew a tough opening-round assignment when she was matched up against Ellen Port of St. Louis, a three-time U.S. Women’s Senior Amateur champion and owner of seven USGA crowns overall.

   Whitley Coleman had survived a playoff among five women for the final three spots in the match-play bracket.

   Port jumped out to an early 2-up advantage by winning the second and third holes. Whitley Coleman cut her deficit to 1-down by taking the fourth hole, but she wouldn’t win another hole.

   Port went back-to-back at the eighth and ninth holes and again at 12 and 13 to take a 5-up lead. When the two players halved the 14^th hole, Port had a 5 and 4 victory.

   It is never a bad thing to measure yourself against a champion like Port. Whitley Coleman’s game will only benefit from her experience at The Lakewood Club.

   There was one last member of the contingent from the Philadelphia area – well, Suzi Spotleson lists Canton, Ohio as home, but she plays at the RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve and owns a win in 2015 in the Women’s Golf Association of Philadelphia Match Play Championship -- still alive Sunday morning at The Lakewood Club.

   Spotleson had joined Whitley Coleman in the 5-for-3 playoff and it was down to just Spotleson and Tina Barker of Fairfield, Calif. when the playoff reached the third hole. Barker, however, grabbed that last ticket into the match-play bracket on the third hole of the playoff.

   Barker’s reward was a match against co-medalist Lisa Tennant of Portland, Ore., the winner of the last two U.S. Senior Women’s Amateurs contested in 2018 at Orchid Island and in 2019 at Cedar Rapids Country Club in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

   Barker, though, acquitted herself quite nicely. When Barker won the 13^th hole, the match was even with five holes to play. Tennant, however, took the 15^th and 17^th holes to run her U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur match-play win streak to 13 with a 2 and 1 victory.

   Tennant’s win sets up an intriguing second-round match Monday morning against Canadian Judith Kyrinis, the 2017 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur champion at Waverley Country Club in Portland, Ore. Kyrinis rolled to a 6 and 5 decision over Brenda Pictor of Marietta, Ga.

   The biggest upset of the opening round was the 3 and 2 victory registered by Louella Kanew of Palm Beach, Fla. over Australia’s Sue Wooster, who lost to Tennant in both the 2018 final at Orchid Island and the 2019 final at Cedar Rapids.

   The winners of Monday morning’s second-round matches will then square off in the round of 16 Monday afternoon. By the end of the day, weather permitting, of course, the field will be whittled down to eight quarterfinalists.