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California 's Marianne Towersey Keeps Winning Hopes Alive With Second Round Win
Santa Cruz, Calif. - Marianne Towersey, 53, of Newport Beach, Calif., birdied three of the first five holes and cruised by stroke play medalist Robin Weiss Donnelley, 51, of Lake Forest, Ill., 5 and 4, in her second round match Tuesday at the USGA Senior Women's Amateur championship at Pasatiempo Golf Club.
Towersey, who is using a borrowed long putter for the second day after her long putter head broke off while putting the clubs away, continues her quest for a USGA title Tuesday afternoon when she faces Patty Moore of Charlotte, N.C., in one of the 16 third round matches. Moore turned back Pat Cornett, 51, of Mill Valley, Calif., twice a semifinalist at the U.S. Women's Amateur, in her second round match, 2 up. Towersey was the equivalent of 4 under par when she closed out her match with a par on the 14th hole. Her opponent, Weiss Donnelley, the 1989 U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur winner and three-time USA Curtis Cup team member, was playing in her first Senior Women's Amateur, restricted to women age 50-and-older. "I guess I get to use this borrowed putter another round," said Towersey, whose long putter broke after the first day of stroke play, forcing her to borrow a long putter from a member of the club staff. Towersey has made a habit of getting agonizingly close to hugging a USGA trophy for nearly 40 years, beginning with her first U.S. Women's Amateur, in 1967. She was just 16 and reached the quarterfinal round. The next summer, she was a semifinalist at the U.S. Girls' Junior. So it has gone for Towersey, who was a semifinalist at last year's Senior Women's Amateur, losing to eventual champion Marlene Streit of Canada . "Last year was my opportunity to break through," said Towersey, looking back at her loss in 24 holes to Streit. "I just didn't focus well enough. I didn't think I was going to lose, but I did. When Carol ( Semple Thompson ) wins them all, there aren't many left for the rest of us." Towersey, a graduate of nearby Stanford University, is one of the best active amateur players never to have won a USGA title. Toni Weisner of Ft. Worth, Texas, Carolyn Creekmore, 52, of Dallas, Texas, and Cornett, are also on that list. Weisner and Creekmore won their second round matches. All of them, however, have had trouble getting by four-time Senior Women's Amateur champion Carol Semple Thompson, 55, of Sewickley, Pa., who is never an easy out. She advanced in her second round match, beating L.A. Allen of Dallas, Texas, 4 and 3. Semple Thompson has won seven USGA titles, beginning with the 1973 Women's Amateur. Weisner, who was runner-up to Semple Thompson in 2000, won her second round match against Joni Wexler of Del Mar, Calif., 1 up. Creekmore beat Canada 's Allison Murdoch, 4 and 2.
Local favorite Sandy Woodruff, 55, of Santa Cruz, Calif., the women's club champion at Pasatiempo, safely advanced through the second round, as did 1988 Women's Mid-Amateur champion Martha Lang, 51, of Mandeville, La., and Nancy Smith, 57, of North Point, Fla., who ended her match by making a hole-in-one on the 15th hole. Play will continue Wednesday with the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of match play. The 18-hole championship final match is set for Thursday. The Senior Women's Amateur is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the United States Golf Association, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.
Story by Craig Smith, USGA director of media relations. You can reach him at csmith@usga.org.
Santa Cruz, Calif. - Results of the second round of match play Tuesday at the USGA Senior Women's Amateur, at the 5,790-yard, par 36-36-72 Pasatiempo Golf Club . Second Round Upper Bracket Marianne Towersey, Newport Beach, Calif. (167) def. Robin Weiss Donnelley, Lake Forest, Ill. (150), 5 and 4. Patty Moore, Charlotte, N.C. (170) def. Patricia Cornett, Mill Valley, Calif. (164), 2 up. Elizabeth Haines, Gladwyne, Pa. (160) def. Ann Probert, New Vernon, N.J. (166), 3 and 2. Marsha Butler, San Diego, Calif. (160) def. Nancy Fitzgerald, Indianapolis, Ind. (166), 19 holes. Martha Lang, Mandeville, La. (156) def. Alice Harcourt, Fallbrook, Calif. (168), 1 up. Nancy Smith, North Port, Fla. (163) def. Taffy Brower, Boynton Beach, Fla. (165), 4 and 3. Reggie Parker, Hobe Sound, Fla. (158) def. Barbara Byrnes, Mesa, Ariz. (166), 4 and 2. Karen Mabli, Palos Verdes Estates, Calif. (163) def. Marcia Fisher, Canby, Ore. (166), 4 and 3.
Lower Bracket Carol Semple Thompson, Sewickley, Pa. (155) def. T.L. Allen, Dallas, Texas (167), 4 and 3. Toni Wiesner, Fort Worth, Texas (163) def. Annette Gaiotti, Salt Lake City, Utah (170), 1 up. Sandy Woodruff, Santa Cruz, Calif. (160) def. Jo-Ann Lindsay, Edina, Minn. (169), 5 and 4 Patty Crigler, Bayfield, Colo. (161) def. Carol Davies, Garrett Park, Md. (166), 1 up. Carolyn Creekmore, Dallas, Texas (155) def. Alison Murdoch, Canada (168), 4 and 2 Martha McAlister, Maumelle, Ark. (171) def. Barbara Pagana, Selinsgrove, Pa. (170), 3 and 1 Karen Ferree, Hilton Head, S.C. (159) def. Lori Elliott, Sparks, Nev. (168). 5 and 4 Ann Lahey, Kentfield, Calif. (162) def. Anne Carr, Seattle, Wash. (166), 21 holes.
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