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Rosemary Thompson, 50, of Albuquerque, N.M., pulled away on the second nine of the final round and went on to capture the 31st U.S. Senior Women's Amateur at Tucson (Ariz.) Country Club. Thompson finished 54 holes in 4-over-par 220, three strokes better than three-time champion Anne Sander.

Thompson opened with a 1-over-par 73 and shared the first-round lead with defending champion Phyllis Preuss, of Colorado Springs, Colo., and Mary Ann Morrison, of Dubois, Wyo. Sander, who won the Senior Women's Amateur title in 1987, 1989 and 1990, played the second nine in 5-over 41 to start with a 76.

On the second day, Thompson added another 73 and Preuss shot a 71, the best 18-hole score of the championship and the only sub-par round, to tie for the lead at 2-over 146. An even-par 72 gave Sander sole possession of third place, and Morrison fell back into a tie for fifth with Betty Probasco, of Lookout Mountain, Tenn., following a second-round 78.

The championship turned into a battle between Thompson and Sander after Preuss began the third round with four bogeys and a double bogey over the first six holes. Thompson led by one at the turn, but a double bogey at the 11th hole gave Sander a one-stroke edge. On the next hole, however, Thompson regained the lead when she made birdie and Sander bogeyed.

Thompson went ahead by two with a 10-foot birdie putt at the 13th, but she gave back that stroke with a bogey on the next hole. The pivotal hole was the par-3 17th, where there was a two-stroke swing to give Thompson her eventual margin of victory. Thompson made a 10-foot putt for birdie while Sander found a bunker off the tee and then missed a five-foot putt for par.

In the age group competition, Thompson won Group I (50-54), Sander took Group 2 (55-59), Probasco finished first in Group 3 (60-64), and Dorothy Porter captured Group 4 (65 and over).