I had covered the entire scholastic career of Chichester’s
Aurora Kan for the Delaware County Daily Times when she claimed the 2010
PIAA Championship as a senior after a couple of runnerup finishes the previous
two years.
But for a long time that day at the Heritage Hills Golf
Resort, it looked like the winner was going to be Bangor senior Stani
Schiavone. But Schiavone let Kan and West Chester East senior Gabriella DiMarco
back in the tournament when she yanked her tee shot at the tricky par-4 16th
hole into the junk – I guess these days you would call it the penalty area --
to the left of the fairway on her way to a double bogey.
Kan caught a huge break on the same hole when her tee shot
looked like it was headed for the creek that runs up the right side of the hole
only to have her ball catch a rock and not only get out of the creek, but bound
all the way onto the green on the short par-4 hole.
Kan, DiMarco and Schiavone still ended up tied at 151 and in
a playoff for the title. Schiavone was eliminated on the first playoff hole,
the 18th at Heritage Hills, and Kan claimed the title with a birdie
on the second playoff hole, the 10th at Heritage Hills.
So it was nice to see Schiavone, a middle school math
teacher and assistant golf coach in the Bangor Area School District, claiming
medalist honors in a Golf Association of Philadelphia-administered qualifier
for the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship last week at Whitford Country
Club. Schiavone's mother is the head coach for the golf team at Bangor.
The U.S. Women’s Mid-Am will tee off Sept. 14 at Forest
Highlands Golf Club in Flagstaff, Ariz.
Schiavone, who plays out of Riverview Country Club in Easton, recovered from a slow start to card a 9-over 81
over the 5,832-yard, par-72 Whitford layout and edge three players by a shot for
medalist honors.
Catherine Elliott-Powell, who starred scholastically at the
Academy of Notre Dame and collegiately at Penn, and Karen Siegel of Maple Glen
prevailed in a 3-for-2 playoff to earn the final two tickets to Forest Highlands.
Elliott-Powell, who plays out of Merion Golf Club, Siegel
and Sara Gerloff of Virginia Beach, Va. each posted an 82. Gerloff lost in the
playoff and is the first alternate. Sarah Relyea of Bloomingdale, N.J. is the
second alternate as she posted an 85.
It is Elliott-Powell’s third straight trip to the U.S.
Women’s Mid-Am and she’ll be hoping the third time is the charm as she has been
unable to earn a spot in the match-play bracket in her first two tries.
Schiavone got off to a bogey, bogey, double bogey start on
her way to a 6-over 42 on the front nine at Whitford. But she was steadier on the
back nine with six pars and three bogeys for a 39 that got her in with an 81.
Schiavone is four years removed from a solid college career
at Mississippi. In 2015, she was the winner of the Women’s Golf Coaches
Association’s Kim Moore Spirit Award, a national award named for a former
University of Indianapolis player who persevered through physical challenges.
Schiavone dealt with tragedies in her personal life and
endured back surgery during her college career. The back issues continue to
plague her, but she is healthy at the moment and looking forward to returning
to the national stage.
“It feels amazing,” Schiavone told the GAP website. “It’s
always incredible to qualify for any USGA event. This will be my sixth USGA
championship. I’ve played in three (U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links), a (U.S.
Girls’ Junior Championship) and qualified for a (U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur) two
years ago.”
The Keystone State will also be represented at Forest
Highlands by three-time Pennsylvania Women’s Amateur champion Katie Miller of
Jeannette. Miller was the medalist in a qualifier held Aug. 1 at South Hills
Country Club with a 75.
Miller, a three-time PIAA champion at Hempfield Area and a
college standout at North Carolina, was a co-medalist in qualifying for match play
in the 2017 U.S. Women’s Mid-Am at the Champions Golf Club’s Cypress Creek Course
in Houston with a 2-under 142 total.
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