Three
Past Champions Advance to USGA Senior Women's Amateur Semifinals
Austin,
Texas – Past champions Carol Semple Thompson, 54, of Sewickley, Pa.,
Marlene Streit, 69, of Canada, and Nancy Fitzgerald, 59, of Carmel,
Ind., all won matches Wednesday to advance to the semifinals of the
2003 USGA Senior Women’s Amateur Championship, being held at the 5,762-yard,
par-72 Foothills course at Barton Creek Resort & Club.
 |
| Four-time defending champion Carol Semple Thompson
follows her ball during the quarterfinals. (Steven Gibbons/USGA) |
The
trio will be joined in the semifinals by Marianne Towersey, 52, of Newport
Beach, Calif.
Semple
Thompson had faced her quarterfinal opponent, Anne Carr, 59, of Seattle,
Wash., in the final of the 2001 Senior Women’s Amateur and the semifinals
of the 2002 championship, with Semple Thompson earning a 1-up victory
each time.
In
Wednesday’s match, Semple Thompson built a three-hole lead after a par
4 at the 375-yard 10th hole. But bogeys by Semple Thompson on the par-4,
270-yard 12th hole and the par-4, 351-yard 13th hole cut Carr’s deficit
to one hole.
“I
was a little annoyed that I had bogeyed those holes,” said Semple Thompson,
who is seeking her fifth consecutive Senior Women’s Amateur crown. “But
I tried to think about it as winning one hole, because I was still 1
up, so it wasn’t that great a disaster. I keep trying to think of ways
to put a positive spin on anything that happens on the golf course.”
The
two players matched pars on the next three holes, and Semple Thompson
earned a 2-and-1 victory when Carr bogeyed the par-3, 174-yard 17th
hole.
“I
have been working every day for the past year for this day,” Carr said.
“I felt more ready for her this year. I’ve just been getting better
and better, and I thought this was the year I’d do it, but you can’t
make a mistake against her, and I made four or five mistakes. You’ve
got to hit the greens, and make the putts.”
 |
| Nancy Fitzgerald, the 1997 USGA Senior Women's
Amateur champion, chips during her quarterfinal match. (Steven
Gibbons/USGA) |
Semple
Thompson will next face Fitzgerald, the 1997 Senior Women’s Amateur
champion, who outlasted Jo-Ann Lindsay, 62, of Edina, Minn., in 19 holes.
Fitzgerald
squared the match at the 17th hole when Lindsay bogeyed, and went on
to win on the 19th hole, the par-4, 375-yard 1st hole, when Lindsay
hit her approach shot to the left of the green and two-putted, while
Fitzgerald was safely on the green in two shots and two-putted for par.
“It
was hard, because at the end, if you made a mistake, you were going
to lose,” Fitzgerald said. “That’s what makes match play so tough.”
Streit,
the 1956 U.S. Women’s Amateur and 1985 and 1994 Senior Women’s Amateur
champion, won three consecutive holes en route to a 2-and-1 victory
over Carolyn Creekmore, 51, of Dallas, Texas.
The
run started at the par-5, 474-yard 15th hole when Streit hit a 6-iron
to within a foot of the flagstick. Streit’s birdie putt was conceded,
and Creekmore’s par squared the match.
“I
hit that good shot on 15 and I think that kind of took the wind out
of her sails,” Streit said.
At
the par-4, 290-yard 16th hole, Creekmore hit her ball into the water
hazard in front of the green and conceded the hole to Streit, and on
the 17th hole, Streit two-putted for par while Creekmore hit her tee
shot into the bunker and went on to double bogey.
Streit,
who looks to break Lewis Oehmig ’s record as oldest champion in USGA
history, will face Towersey, who never trailed en route to a 6-and-5
win over Pat Milton, 50, of Munroe Falls, Ohio.
 |
| Marianne Towersey waits to see where her ball lands
during her quarterfinal victory. (Steven Gibbons/USGA) |
Towersey
benefited from two consecutive birdies, on the par-5, 448-yard 8th hole
and the par-3, 120-yard 9th hole. She’s pleased with her game thus far
this week.
“My
driver is keeping me in play, and my putter is working well,” Towersey
said. “I feel confident in my putts.”
The
semifinal matches and 18-hole championship final will be played on Thursday,
Sept. 11.
The
USGA Senior Women’s Amateur is one of 13 championships conducted annually
by the United States Golf Association each year, 10 of which are strictly
for amateurs.
Austin,
Texas – Results from the quarterfinal round of match play Wednesday
at the 2003 USGA Senior Women’s Amateur Championship at the 5,762 -yard,
par-72 Foothills course at Barton Creek Resort & Club:
Round
of 8
Upper
Bracket
Marianne
Towersey, Newport Beach, Calif. (164) def., Pat Milton, Munroe Falls,
Ohio (153), 6 and 5
Marlene
Streit, Canada (153) def. Carolyn Creekmore, Dallas, Texas (152), 2
and 1
Lower
Bracket
Carol
Semple Thompson, Sewickley, Pa. (150) def. Anne Carr, Seattle, Wash.
(147), 2 and 1
Nancy
Fitzgerald, Carmel, Ind. (148) def. Jo-Ann Lindsay, Edina, Minn. (159),
19 holes
