Lutz's repeat bid halted in second round at U.S. Senior Amateur

   Reading’s Chip Lutz saw his bid for a second straight U.S. Senior Amateur Championship halted in the second round of match play at Old Warson Country Club in St. Louis Tuesday.

   Lutz, the reigning six-time Golf Association of Philadelphia Senior Player of the Year who plays out of LedgeRock Golf Club, suffered a 5 and 3 setback at the hands of two-time Senior Amateur champion Paul Simson of Raleigh, N.C.

   The 61-year-old Lutz was 2-down to Simson after seven holes, but cut the deficit in half when he won the 10^th with a par. Simson, however, took control of the match by winning three straight holes, the 11^th with a birdie and the 12^th and 13^th with pars. Simson, 65, then closed out the match when he won the 15^th hole with a bogey.

   Simson, however, was knocked off in the round of 16 Tuesday afternoon on the 20^th hole by Dave Ryan of Taylorville, Ill., about 90 miles from St. Louis. Ryan was 1-down when he teed off at the 14^th hole, shortened from between 310 to 367 yards to just 270 yards. It was the driveable par-4 the USGA loves and Ryan drove it right into the hole for an ace, just the third known hole-in-one on a par-4 in USGA history.

   Simson came right back to win the next two holes with pars, but Ryan won the 17^th with a birdie and the 18^th with a par. Simson three-putted the 20^th hole for a bogey and Ryan advanced to the quarterfinals.

   Also reaching the quarterfinals was qualifying medalist Tim Jackson of Germantown, Tenn., who defeated 2014 Senior Amateur champion Patrick Tallent of Vienna, Va., 2 and 1. Jackson is a two-time U.S. Mid-Amateur champion.

   Meanwhile at the U.S. Women’s Senior Amateur Championship, being held at Wellesley Country Club in Wellesley, Mass., Philadelphian Lisa McGill also saw her run halted in the second round with a 2 and 1 loss to defending champion Karen Garcia of Cool, Calif.

   Garcia won the 14^th with a par to go 3-up. McGill, who also qualified for match play at last week’s U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur at The Kahkwa Club in Erie, cut her deficit to 2-down with a birdie at the 15^th, but could do no better than halves on 16 and 17.

   McGill still had some momentum from her strong showing at The Kahkwa Club and finished alone in fourth place in the Senior Amateur qualifying with a pair of 77s for a 6-over 154 total. She cruised to a 5 and 4 decision over Kathy Malpass of Evergreen, Colo. in the opening round of match play.

Garcia came back Tuesday afternoon to edge Sydney Wells of Menominee, Mich., 2 and 1, to advance to the quarterfinals.

   Gulph Mills Golf Club’s Alexandra Frazier also earned a spot in match play at the Women’s Senior Amateur, but fell in the opening round, 2 and 1, to Akemi Nakata Khaiat of Japan.

   Bethlehem’s Noreen Mohler claimed a ticket in the match-play bracket and dropped a 3 and 2 decision to Lisa Schlesinger of Laytonsville, Md. in Monday’s first round. Schlesinger earned a spot in Wednesday morning’s quarterfinals with a 1-up victory over Stacey Camara of Windsor, Calif. Tuesday afternoon.