Sunnybrook Golf Club’s Lisa McGill made a nice run to the
quarterfinals of the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur at Waverly Country Club in
Portland, Ore. a year ago.
She’s making the most of the exemption she earned into this
year’s championship for making last year’s quarterfinals. The 59-year-old
McGill carded an efficient even-par 72 at the Orchid Island Golf & Beach
Club in Vero Beach, Fla. Saturday and is among a group of four players tied for
third after the opening round of qualifying for match play.
Martha Leach of Hebron, Ky., the low amateur in this
summer’s inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open at Chicago Golf Club, grabbed the
lead in qualifying with a 3-under 69 over the 5,689-yard, par-72 Orchid Island
layout.
Defending champion Judith Kyrinis of Canada, who defeated
McGill in the quarterfinals on her way to the title at Waverly, is alone in
second place after posting a 2-under 70.
McGill, who appears to split her time between Philadelphia
and New England, did a nice job of negotiating an Orchid Lakes layout that has
water on 17 of its 18 holes without taking any big numbers.
McGill made a birdie at the third to make the turn at
1-under. She had bogeys at the 11th and 13th holes, but
was able to make a birdie at the short, par-4 17th to finish at
even-par.
McGill was joined at even-par by Leigh Klasse of Cumberland,
Wis., Patricia Ehrhart of Honolulu, Hawaii and Corey Weworski, the 2004 U.S.
Women’s Mid-Amateur champion.
The 56-year-old Leach, the 2009 Women’s Mid-Amateur
champion, had five birdies on her way to her 3-under round.
Suzi Spotleson of Canton, Ohio, who, I’m pretty sure, snuck
into the Philadelphia area on a business trip a several years ago and played in
and won the Women’s Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Match Play Championship,
is among the group tied for 32nd at 6-over 78.
Jane Fitzgerald of Kensington, Md., the medalist in the Golf
Association of Philadelphia-administered qualifier at Northampton Country Club,
is in the group tied for 48th after carding an 80. Fitzgerald
reached the second round of match play at Waverly a year ago before getting
knocked out by McGill.
The top 64 finishers following Sunday’s second round of
qualifying will advance to match play, which gets under way Monday.
The other two qualifiers from Northampton, Merion Golf
Club’s Liz Haines and Allison Long of Coatesville, struggled at Orchid Island.
Haines, 70 years young and one of just four players 70 or
older in the field, is in the group tied for 124th after finishing
with a 90. Long is in the group tied for 127th after signing for a
94.
No comments:
Post a Comment