In USGA senior amateur qualifiers held in Colorado this week, it was a case of, “like husband, like wife.”

A day after Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kent Moore shared medalist honors at U.S. Senior Amateur qualifying at Flatirons Golf Course in Boulder, his wife, fellow Hall of Famer Janet Moore, followed suit on Friday by being medalist at U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur qualifying at The Club at Codillera’s Valley Course in Edwards.

Janet Moore (left), who last weekend won her 19th CWGA championship by teaming up with Allie Johnston to claim the Brassie title, continued her roll by posting the low score out of 46 entrants at Cordillera. Moore shot an 8-over-par 80 in very windy conditions on a formidable mountain layout.

“It is very special,” Moore said of the husband-wife medalist feat for the national senior amateur qualifiers. (Kent shot 69 at Flatirons on Thursday.) “But after careful calculation, we figured we played in a 12-shot wind today,” she joked.

Everything is relative, of course.

With wind blowing 15-20 mph much of the day and greens nearly as tough to putt as those at the Colorado Open’s longtime former home, Hiwan Golf Club, low scores were nowhere to be found on Friday. It was so difficult that competitors who shot 89 played off for the last of the 10 available berths into the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur.

Of those 10 berths, seven went to Coloradans. The qualifiers for the Senior Women’s Amateur, which will be held Sept. 26-Oct. 1 in Nashville, Tenn., were:

Janet Moore of Cherry Hills Village 80
Kathy Malpass of Evergreen 81
Kelly Loeb of Tucson, Ariz. 81
Deb Hughes of Denver 83
Cathy Stypula of Boulder 85
Katherine Moore-Lilly of Minneapolis 85
Diane Henry of Kerrville, Texas 86
Beverly Hoffenberg of Greenwood Village 87
Jennifer Hocking of Colorado Springs 87
Patty Smogor of Centennial 89

The alternates were, in order:

Kathleen Johnson of Broomfield 89
Julie Robichaux of Kingwood, Texas 90

Smogor won a playoff with Johnson for the final national berth.

Moore, Malpass and Hocking also qualified last year in Colorado for the Senior Women’s Amateur. Malpass will be competing in the Senior Women’s Am for the sixth time and in a USGA championship for the ninth. It’ll be No. 2 in both categories for Hocking.

Meanwhile, for Moore, it will be her 19th USGA championship. She’s previously competed in three U.S. Women’s Amateurs, one Senior Women’s Amateur, two USGA Women’s State Teams and a dozen Mid-Amateurs.

On a day when birdies were few and far between, Moore made one, at the par-5 third hole, where she almost chipped in for eagle and tapped in a 3-inch birdie putt. Other than that, it was tough going.

“It was playing very difficult,” said Moore, 51. “I was grinding all day to get pars, even bogeys. Quite a few good players had high scores. With the wind and the mountain greens, if you hit your ball in the wrong place, it can add up quickly.”

Moore said she benefited from having as a caddie Brett Gagnon, who once was an assistant professional at Cordillera, and now works in the same capacity at Red Sky Golf Club. Gagnon is a former caddie at Cherry Hills Country Club, where the Moores are members.

“If I didn’t have Brett, I definitely would have been a few shots higher,” Moore said. “He saved me a couple of times.”

When Moore went to the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur last year, she had a lot on her plate as she was coaching the women’s golf team at Wheaton College in Illinois. Suffice it to say her game wasn’t in peak form and her rounds of 83-87 left her three shots out of advancing to match play.

But after stepping away from coaching — after four seasons — in the spring, she hopes to perform much better at the national championship this time around.

“Last year was a busier time with coaching, and playing in the Senior Am and the Mid-Am was a little too much,” said the five-time CWGA Stroke Play champion. “I hope this year I have more time to practice and get ready. Hopefully, I get there and represent Colorado well.”

For all the scores from Friday, CLICK HERE.

(Below are some of Friday’s qualifiers: From left, Diane Henry, Bev Hoffenberg, Kathy Malpass, Deb Hughes, Kelly Loeb, Jennifer Hocking and Janet Moore.)
 

Christie Austin was on the verge of skipping Monday’s USGA Senior Women’s Amateur qualifying. As a member of the USGA Executive Committee — and of Cherry Hills Country Club — it had been a busy last week and a half for her, with the U.S. Amateur being contested at Cherry Hills and CommonGround Golf Course.

“I almost didn’t even try,” Austin said of qualifying. “I was so tired with the Amateur and I haven’t played very much. I thought, ‘At least I increased the field size (in the qualifier) so there’s more (national spots at stake).’ I had kind of a bad attitude going into the day.”

And while she didn’t play great, the 55-year-old competed well enough Monday at Columbine Country Club to land one of the six available berths in the Senior Women’s Amateur, one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the USGA, for which Austin plays such a prominent leadership role.

“I really kind of feel like I don’t deserve it, but I’m not going to turn the spot back,” Austin (pictured above) said after shooting a 9-over-par 81 at Columbine to advance to her second Senior Women’s Am. “I would love to go. And I get to be supportive of the USGA staff that’s there. So I can wear both hats and enjoy it.

“It’s always such a treat to go to our national championships. You feel like a professional, they treat you so well. Which is something we strive to do; we strive to make it the best championship for anybody that plays in them.”

This year’s USGA Senior Women’s Amateur will be contested Sept. 8-13 in Hershey, Pa. Joining Austin at the championship out of Monday’s field of 29 will be medalist Marilyn Hardy (pictured at left), a part-time resident of southwest Colorado who shot a 73 on Monday; Charlotte Barley of Springfield, Ore. (77); Beverly Hoffenberg of Greenwood Village (81); Debbie Blount of Vail (82); and Laurie Steenrod of Aurora (82).

Blount and Steenrod qualified for the second straight year, but they needed a playoff to advance. The five golfers who shot 82 went extra holes to settle the final two qualifiers, and Blount and Steenrod posted a bogey and a par on the two playoff holes to punch their tickets.

Barley and Hoffenberg will be competing in a USGA championship for the first time and Blount the second. The other qualifiers are more veterans, with Austin and Steenrod at about 10 USGA championships each.

But Hardy really has a long resume when it comes to national golf championships. By her estimate, she’s played in roughly 35 of them, including two U.S. Women’s Open, 10 or 11 Women’s Amateurs and about 22 Mid-Ams. In fact, she made the semifinals of the very first U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur, losing to eventual champion Cindy Scholefield in 1987 in Tulsa, Okla.

USGA championships “are always special,” said Hardy, who splits time between Houston and the Gunnison/Lake City area of Colorado.

But this will be the first Senior Women’s Am for the 50-year-old Hardy, who missed the age deadline by three days last year.

“I had to wait last year, so this will be a new experience to play the seniors,” she said. “I’ve played in a lot of Mid-Ams and a lot of Amateurs, so this will be a new adventure.”

Meanwhile, Barley and Hoffenberg are ready to soak in the USGA competitor experience for the first time.

“It’s a big deal to me,” said the 55-year-old Barley. “It’s the biggest deal (of her golfing life).”

Added Hoffenberg, also 55: “I’m very excited. It’ll be the thrill of a lifetime.”

Indeed, when Blount made her USGA championship debut last year, it left a deep impression on her. And that’s why she was so determined on Monday to earn a return trip.

“I wanted it so bad this year because I learned so much from it last year, and all I wanted to do is get back,” said the 54-year-old, who still serves as a ski instructor in Vail. “It was truly the most phenomenal golf experience of my life last year. It’s so special. I love it.”

Steenrod, the 1995 CWGA Match Play champion, will be going to her sixth Women’s Senior Amateur. The 56-year-old retired teacher has advanced every year but one since turning 50.

“I’m delighted,” she said. “I love to go. I’ve never been to that part of the country (Hershey, Pa.) and I’m happy to see new golf courses and go hit it out there with the rest of them. It’s going to be a hoot.”

Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton, who went to the quarterfinals of the USGA Senior Women’s Am in 2011 for the second time in three years, was exempt from qualifying this year.

USGA Senior Women’s Amateur Qualifying

At Par-72 Columbine CC in Littleton

QUALIFIED FOR USGA SENIOR WOMEN’S AMATEUR
Marilyn Hardy, Houston, Texas – 36-37–73

Charlotte Barley, Springfield, Ore. – 37-40–77

Christie Austin, Cherry Hills Village, Colo. – 43-38–81

Beverly Hoffenberg, Greenwood Village, Colo. – 38-43–81

Debbie Blount, Vail, Colo. – 38-44–82

Laurie Steenrod, Aurora, Colo. – 42-40–82


ALTERNATES (in order)
Deb Hughes, Denver, Colo. – 44-38–82

Christine Gingrich, Centennial, Colo. – 39-43–82


FAILED TO QUALIFY
Beth Clippinger, Centennial, Colo. – 40-42–82

Charlotte Jorgensen, Windsor, Colo. – 44-39–83

Liz Kennedy, Grand Junction, Colo. – 42-41–83

Nancy Ziereis, Centennial, Colo. – 43-40–83

Cindy Pallatino, Scottsdale, Ariz. – 42-42–84

Jennifer Hocking, Colorado Springs, Colo. – 43-41–84

Sandra Young, Monument, Colo. – 41-43–84

Sue Davis, La Quinta, Calif. – 44-42–86

Marianne Ceriani, Golden, Colo. – 42-46–88

Sheryl Larsen, Denver, Colo. – 44-45–89

Jessi McVay, Denver, Colo. – 42-47–89

Katty Rothberg, Denver, Colo. – 46-44–90

Jan Ugale, Greenwood Village, Colo. – 44-46–90

Tangy Buchanan, Littleton, Colo. – 44-48–92

Juliet Miner, Castle Rock, Colo. – 51-49–100

Ginger Doubek, Sedalia, Colo. – 52-53–105

Mary Drey, Lakewood, Colo. – 52-56–108

Cindy Joos, Littleton, Colo. – 53-57–110

Patty Smogor, Centennial, Colo. – WD

Patricia Neuenhoff – WD