Guatemala's Arenas Takes First-Day Lead By Three Strokes

Sunriver, Ore. – Beatriz Arenas, 59, of Guatemala, shot a 1-under-par 70 Saturday to take a three-stroke lead on the first day of stroke play at the 2007 USGA Senior Women’s Amateur Championship at Sunriver Resort’s 5,975-yard Meadows Course.

Madelaine Campbell, 57, of Newport Beach, Calif., and Lou Hart, 55, of Meridian, Miss., each posted a 2-over-par 73 to trail by three strokes. Cecilia Mourgue D’Algue of France, the 2006 medalist, shot 74 in the afternoon.

"It is very good score,” said Arenas, who is playing in her first Senior Women’s Amateur. “I putted very well. I shot 32 and 38 because there are some tough holes on the second nine.”

Arenas posted the only sub-par score of the day. She logged four birdies, including three on her first nine, as well as three bogeys. It tied for the second-lowest first-round score in championship history.

Arenas, who has played in six Women’s World Amateur Team Championships for her country and is a three-time Guatemala Player of the Year, was never aware of the Senior Amateur until earlier this year.

"Never in Guatemala did we have notice of this tournament,” said Arenas, whose daughter, Maria, played college golf in the USA at Pepperdine in California. “This year, the federation said: ‘Would you like to qualify in Houston.’ So I did.”

She credited her driving accuracy for part of her success. “My driver was not very nice yesterday and the day before,” she said. “Today, I was on the fairway all the time because the rough is hard.”

An avid oil painter, two things did not escape her eye: the surroundings and the colors of the University of Oregon. She wears a magnetic ball marker on her cap with the gold ‘O’ on its green background.

"Since I am here, I have to adopt them,” she said of Oregon Ducks. “This is such a beautiful place. I have never played a golf course like this.”

Hart, meanwhile, was ecstatic about her score.

"It was crazy,” she said. “I thought if I could shoot 82-82 I might have a chance to qualify. You set your sights and set your goals. The 82 was my goal for the day. This is a blessing.”

Carolyn Creekmore, 55, of Dallas, Texas, who won the title in 2004, was 1-under-par at the turn but finished with a 75.  “I made bogey after bogey and added a double,” she said. “It was like someone else took over my body.”

Diane Lang, of Weston, Fla., the 2005 and 2006 champion and four-time champion Carol Semple Thompson, of Sewickley, Pa., both carded 77s as did three-time winner, 73-year-old Marlene Stewart Streit, of Canada. Anna Schultz, of Rockwall, Texas, the 2006 runner-up, shot 76.

Of the six players in the field from Oregon, the best score was the 76 from Rachel Whittington of Lake Oswego.

After two rounds of stroke play, the field is cut to the low 64 scores for match play, which  begins Monday, and continues through Thursday’s championship final.

The USGA is the national governing body of golf in this country and Mexico, a combined territory that includes more than half the game's golfers and golf courses.

The Association's most visible role is played out each season in conducting 13 national championships, including the U.S. Open, U.S. Women's Open and U.S. Senior Open. Ten additional USGA national championships are exclusively for amateurs.

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Story written by Pete Kowalski, USGA Media Relations. E-mail him with questions or comments at pkowalski@usga.org.

Sunriver, Ore. – Results from Saturday’s first round of stroke play at the 2007 USGA Senior Women’s Amateur Championship played at the 5,975-yard, par-71 Sunriver Resort’s Meadows Course:

Sunriver, Ore. – Results from Saturday’s first round of stroke play at the 2007 USGA Senior Women’s Amateur Championship played at the 5,975-yard, par-71 Sunriver Resort’s Meadows Course:

Beatriz Arenas, Guatemala - 32-38--70

            Lou Hart, Meridian, Miss. - 35-38--73

            Madelaine Campbell, Newport Beach, Calif. - 34-39--73

            Cecilia Mourgue D'Algue, France - 35-39--74

            Carolyn Creekmore, Dallas, Texas - 34-41--75

            Cindy Bryniarski, Durango, Colo. - 37-38--75

            Joan Higgins, Glendora, Calif. - 36-39--75

            Noreen Mohler, Bethlehem, Pa. - 37-38--75

            Patty Moore, Charlotte, N.C. - 37-38--75

            Terry Mayes, Gilroy, Calif. - 37-38--75

            Ann Laughlin, Plantation, Fla. - 37-39--76

            Anna Schultz, Rockwall, Texas - 37-39--76

            Anne Zahn, Minnetonka Beach, Minn. - 38-38--76

            Rachel Whittington, Lake Oswego, Ore. - 37-39--76

            Carol S Thompson, Sewickley, Pa. - 36-41--77

            Diane Lang, Jamaica - 36-41--77

            Georgia McCravey, Chattanooga, Tenn. - 37-40--77

            Loree McKay, Portland, Ore. - 37-40--77

            Lynda Palahniuk, Canada   - 38-39--77

            Marianne Towersey, Pebble Beach, Calif. - 39-38--77

            Marlene Streit, Canada - 38-39--77

            Mary Budke, Eugene, Ore. - 38-39--77

            Robyn Puckett, Irvine, Calif. - 39-38--77

            Sandy Woodruff, Santa Cruz, Calif. - 39-38--77

            Toni Wiesner, Fort Worth, Texas - 41-36--77

            Claudia Pilot, Austin, Minn. - 40-38--78

            Georgia Hutchinson, Ketchum, Idaho - 41-37--78

            Ginny Burkey, Fircrest, Wash. - 38-40--78

            Jo-Ann Lindsay, Edina, Minn. - 36-42--78

            Judy Miller, Tucson, Ariz. - 38-40--78

            Mimi Hoffman, Springfield, Va. - 36-42--78

            Rebecca Davis, Broken Arrow, Okla. - 37-41--78

            Christine Giza, Gilbert, Ariz. - 41-38--79

            Cindy Pallatino, Denver, Colo. - 37-42--79

            Jan Phillips, Bonita Springs, Fla. - 38-41--79

            Joan Edwards-Powell, Portland, Ore. - 41-38--79

            Joan Garety, Ada, Mich. - 36-43--79

            Lindsay Wortham, Richmond, Va. - 42-37--79

            Louise Davis, Los Angeles, Calif. - 37-42--79

            Marsha Butler, San Diego, Calif. - 41-38--79

            Martha Lang, Birmingham, Ala. - 40-39--79

            Nancy Fitzgerald, Carmel, Ind. - 36-43--79

            Natalie Easterly, Richmond, Va. - 40-39--79

            Patricia French, Tulsa, Okla. - 40-39--79

            Tanna Lee Richard, Fort Smith, Ark. - 40-39--79

            Connie Shorb, York, Pa. - 38-42--80

            Gail Burden, Winfield, Kan. - 41-39—80

            Holly Horwood, Canada - 38-42--80

            Kate Johnson, Sleepy Hollow, Ill. - 41-39--80

            Sharon Keil, Lady Lake, Fla. - 40-40--80

            Taffy Brower, Boynton Beach, Fla. - 37-43--80

            Terry Ehrhardt, Waco, Texas - 38-42--80

            Alice Harcourt, Fallbrook, Calif. - 39-42--81

            Alison Murdoch, Canada  - 41-40--81

            Deborah Anderson, Rancho Mirage, Calif. - 40-41--81

            Deborah Jamgochian, Greenwich, Conn. - 39-42--81

            Lisa Smego, Olympia, Wash. - 38-43--81

            Robin W Donnelley, Scottsdale, Ariz. - 42-39--81

            Ann Lahey, Kentfield, Calif. - 40-42--82

            Donna Frank, Bakersfield, Calif. - 39-43--82

            Ellie Layton, Minneapolis, Minn. - 43-39--82

            Frances Gacos, Flemington, N.J. - 40-42--82

            Ivy Steinberg, Canada - 42-40--82

            Jacqueline Hauck, Fort Wayne, Ind. - 38-44--82

            Kristine Berger, Hilton Head Island, S.C. - 39-43--82

            Linda Pearson, Glendale, Calif. - 44-38--82

            Marcia Fisher, Canby, Ore. - 41-41--82

            Mitsue Lewis, San Diego, Calif. - 39-43--82

            Reggie Parker, Hobe Sound, Fla. - 39-43--82

            Rise Lakowske, Corvallis, Ore. - 36-46--82

            Angela Stewart, Greenville, N.C. - 42-41--83

            Barbara Byrnes, Mesa, Ariz. - 45-38--83

            Bonnie Catto, South Hadley, Mass. - 40-43--83

            Darlene Werhnyak, Lawrenceville, Ga. - 42-41--83

            Elizabeth Kennedy, Grand Junction, Colo. - 42-41--83

            Karen Ferree, Hilton Head, S.C. - 41-42--83

            Kathleen Hunt, Buffalo, N.Y. - 45-38--83

            Katie Falk, Milwaukee, Wis. - 43-40--83

            Maria Malone, Farmington Hills, Mich. - 42-41--83

            Patricia Kimball, Scottsdale, Ariz. - 41-42--83

            Patricia Robinson, Poplar Bluff, Mo. - 40-43--83

            Patty Lang, Saegertown, Pa. - 44-39--83

            Rita Albertson, Scottsdale, Ariz. - 41-42--83

            Sharon Baerenklau, Heathrow, Fla. - 40-43--83

            Annette Gaiotti, Salt Lake City, Utah - 44-40--84

            Cheryl Grigg, Sea Island, Ga. - 43-41--84

            Cindy Kuykendall, Kingwood, Texas - 39-45--84

            Diane Masterson, Cambridge, Ohio - 42-42--84

            Diane Williams, Palm Desert, Calif. - 42-42--84

            Dianne Yelovich, Pinehurst, N.C. - 40-44--84

            Judy Collins, Canada - 41-43--84

            Linda Dillon, Winter Garden, Fla. - 41-43--84

            Linda Maynard, Highland, Ind. - 42-42--84

            Lisa Stanley, Reno, Nev. - 42-42--84

            Lynn Larson, Parker, Colo. - 41-43--84

            Nancy Smith, North Port, Fla. - 44-40--84

            Roberta Hunt, North Attleboro, Mass. - 42-42--84

            Barbara Paonessa, New Rochelle, N.Y. - 44-41--85

            Clate Aydlett, Elizabeth City, N.C. - 44-41--85

            Leslie Wilk, Agoura Hills, Calif. - 39-46--85

            Lynda Milligan, Madison, Conn. - 42-43--85

            Phyllis Laschuk, Canada - 43-42--85

            Anne Sander, Seattle, Wash. - 43-43--86

            Beverly Kim, Wahiawa, Hawaii - 42-44--86

            Carol Clarey, Seekonk, Mass. - 41-45--86

            Danna King, Coto De Caza, Calif. - 40-46--86

            Etsu Suzuki, Japan - 43-43--86

            Maggie Scott, Charleston, Tenn. - 43-43--86

            Mary Hill, Winston-Salem, N.C. - 47-39--86

            Nancy Markey, San Francisco, Calif. - 41-45--86

            Barbara Hoversten, Castle Rock, Colo. - 44-43--87

            Cheryl Brayman, East Hills, N.Y. - 45-42--87

            Cynthia Curry, Charlotte, N.C. - 38-49--87

            Jill Christiansen, La Grange, Ill. - 40-47--87

            Karen Mabli, Palos Verdes Estates, Calif. - 43-44--87

            Kim Cure, Wichita Falls, Texas - 43-44--87

            Laurie Steenrod, Denver, Colo. - 40-47--87

            Mazzie Gogolak, Naples, Fla. - 42-45--87

            Sue O'Connor, Lake Bluff, Ill. - 44-43--87

            Barbara Millslagle, Holualoa, Hawaii - 41-47--88

            Charlotte Jorgensen, Windsor, Colo. - 41-47--88

            Joyce Buss, Scottsdale, Ariz. - 45-43--88

            Diane Henry, Richmond, Texas - 45-44--89

            Sue Erredge, Zumbrota, Minn. - 43-46--89

            Terrie Avazian, Cardiff, Calif. - 43-46--89

            Jo Glenn, Tulsa, Okla. - 48-42--90

            Sarah Haas, Carterville, Ill. - 42-48--90

            Mary McNeill, Fayetteville, N.Y. - 46-45--91

            Sue Hubbard, Kent, Wash. - 46-45--91

            Barbara Rund, Sun City, Calif. - 48-46--94

            Niki Murvin, Windermere, Fla. - 52-43--95

            Susan Bianchi, Boston, Mass. - 49-54--103