For some in the 25-golfer field, simply qualifying for a USGA championship would be nirvana. Others are realistically taking aim at making the 64-player match play portion of the national tournament. Still others believe they can go deep into the match play tree and perhaps even win a national title.

Whatever the expectations, five women left Hiwan with a little more pep in their step as they earned spots in the national championship for senior women’s players.

Landing a trip to the Senior Women’s Amateur — set for Sept. 21-26 in San Martin, Calif. — were part-time Gunnison-area resident Marilyn Hardy, who shot a 4-over-par 77 and gained medalist honors in Colorado for the second straight year; Kathy Malpass (78), an Evergreen resident and a Hiwan member for the last 15 years; Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton (79), who now lives full-time in Tempe, Ariz.; Beth Clippinger of Centennial (80); and Deb Hughes of Denver (81).

(The five are pictured above. From left: Malpass, Hardy, Eaton, Clippinger and Hughes.)

The qualifiers range in age from 51 (Hardy) to 61 (Clippinger).

“You always think the young ‘munchkins’ are going to come beat you out,” Clippinger said with a grin. “So it is more special (to qualify at age 61).”

It’s worth noting that, as a group, all five of Thursday’s qualifiers have competed in the USGA Senior Women’s Amateur before. Eaton will be going for the fifth time in five tries, Malpass and Clippinger for the fourth, Hughes for the third and Hardy for the second.

Eaton, who just completed a sweep of 2013 CWGA senior championships (match and stroke), has advanced to match play all four previous years she’s played in the Senior Women’s Am. But most impressively, she’s made it to the quarterfinals of the national championship twice, in 2009 and ’11.

“I know I can win it,” said Eaton, who has captured four state titles this year (two in Colorado and one each in California and Arizona). “I just have to stay in it. I know I have the game to do it. It’s just a matter of not getting frustrated. I feel this year, if anything, it could be a good year for me to go further because I’ve been playing so well.”

This will be the 22nd or 23rd USGA championship for Eaton, by her reckoning. But the total for Hardy, who likewise made it to the round of 32 in the Senior Am last year, is even more impressive. She’s well in the 30s as far as competing in USGA championships go.

Hardy has made it as far as the semifinals and quarterfinals of the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur (in separate years), and to the round of 16 at the U.S. Women’s Amateur. On Thursday, she showed what she’s capable of by shooting a 2-under-par 34 on the front nine at Hiwan before her putter gave her fits on the back.

“It’s a great course, very challenging,” said Hardy, a Houston resident most of the year. “I drove the ball really well and I hit a ton of greens, but I didn’t putt well. You’ve got to play out here a lot to know the greens, but (Wednesday) was my first round ever out here.”

That certainly isn’t the case with Malpass, a professor at Metropolitan State University of Denver the last six years. Having been a member at Hiwan since 1998, she knew the course’s extremely challenging greens — which Eaton called “crazy” and “funky” — better than most.

“It’s always nice to have that confidence on the greens,” Malpass said. “Usually when I play other places I think there’s a break but there’s not. That’s the Hiwan curse, right? But I think it definitely did help me to have the confidence on the greens. But I needed that because my driver was putting me in places no man would want to be.”

Hughes, runner-up to Eaton earlier this week in the CWGA Senior Stroke Play, and Clippinger were a little extra determined to qualify for the national tournament this year after losing out in a playoff in last year’s qualifying.

“I missed it by one stroke last year, so this is a little bit of redemption for me to do it this year, especially after the second-place finish in the Senior Stroke Play,” Hughes said.

USGA Senior Women’s Amateur Qualifying
At Par-73 Hiwan GC in Evergreen

QUALIFIED FOR SENIOR WOMEN’S AMATEUR
Marilyn Hardy, Champions GC 34-43–77
Kathy Malpass, Hiwan CC 39-39–78
Kim Eaton, Riverdale GC 40-39–79
Beth Clippinger, South Suburban Wga 41-39–80
Deborah Hughes, Green Valley Ranch GC 43-38–81

ALTERNATES (In order)
Christie Austin, Cherry Hills CC 39-43–82
Sue Davis, Saddle Rock Wga 45-38–83

FAILED TO QUALIFY
Cindy Pallatino, CommonGround GC 39-45–84
Liz Kennedy, Tiara Rado GC 40-46–86
Debra Woolf, Fort Worth, Texas 43-43–86
Katty Rothberg, Cherry Creek CC 40-47–87
Sally Lawrence, Broken Tee GC 43-44–87
Sheryl Larsen, Lakewood CC 42-46–88
Jessi McVay, CommonGround GC 44-44–88
Debbie Blount, The Club at Cordillera 44-44–88
Laurie Steenrod, Saddle Rock GC 43-46–89
Charlotte Barley, Springfield, Ore. 43-47–90
Beverly Hoffenberg, Pinehurst CC 47-46–93
Karen Williams, Wellshire GC 51-42–93
Patty Smogor, Broken Tee GC 43-51–94
Juliet Miner, Bear Dance Wga 48-50–98
Christine Gingrich, South Suburban GC 47-52–99
Pat O’Connor, Collindale GC 52-50–102
Peggy Puckett, Wellshire GC 51-54–105
Cindy Joos, Broken Tee Englewood Wga 56-58–114
 

Three months ago, the golfer from Centennial spent the summer solstice in memorable fashion to commemorate her 60th birthday.

Clippinger not only played at one of the top golf resorts in the country — in Bandon, Ore. — but she spent about 14 hours and 45 minutes on the resort’s courses that day, walking all the way. All told, she played four full rounds, one at each of the Bandon Dunes Golf Resort courses, all of which are ranked among the top 26 in Golfweek’s 2012 list of best modern courses in the nation: Pacific Dunes, Bandon Trails, Old Macdonald and Bandon Dunes.

Besides having a day she’ll remember for the rest of her life, Clippinger did some good for the game back in her home state. Through money pledged for the event, she raised more than $3,000 for charity, with $1,550 going to Colorado junior golf through the CWGA and CGA.

“I was doing it for my 60th birthday and I said, ‘If I’m going to do it, I’m going to do it for charity,'” said Clippinger (pictured last month). “‘I might as well make money for somebody.'”

Besides Colorado junior golf, Clippinger is making a contribution to a foundation started when her mother — a schoolteacher in California — passed away. The foundation provides for a scholarship given each year to an athletic student.

Clippinger, a good enough player that she’s competed in the USGA Senior Women’s Amateur, was one of three women and 66 golfers overall who participated in the 2012 Bandon Dunes Summer Solstice Challenge on June 20.

With her twin sister from North Carolina caddying for her and a friend playing alongside, Clippinger started her marathon day of golf at 5:25 a.m. at Pacific Dunes and ended it at 8:10 p.m. after the final round at Bandon Dunes. All told, it’s estimated that participants walked more than 20 miles. “I could have gone on, but it was getting a little dark,” Clippinger noted.

The first three rounds flew by in anywhere from 2:50 to 3:15, but the final one at Bandon Dunes bogged down and lasted 5:10. In addition to the golf per se, there was about 15 minutes between rounds for transportation between courses. Clippinger noted that she made three birdies in 72 holes and lost five balls in the four rounds.

There were about four “Challenge” groups on each of the four courses at any given time. Among the participants was TV golf analyst Brandel Chamblee, who along with Golf Magazine executive editor Eamon Lynch tweeted during the marathon day.

In addition to traversing the four full courses at Bandon, Clippinger rounded out her experience at the resort by playing the 13-hole par-3 course, Bandon Preserve, in her practice round.

“We had a great time,” she said. “They treated us like princesses.”

Clippinger got the idea for participating in the annual Summer Solstice Challenge last year while visiting her dad, who lives in Bandon.

“They had a newspaper article about it and my dad said, ‘Hey, you’ve got to look into this,'” she said. “I went to the pro shop and said I’d really like to be considered for this. They e-mailed me in February and said, ‘Get a foursome.’ But I couldn’t get a foursome. There aren’t too many crazy people who want to walk for 15 hours.”