Players from Texas have made themselves right at home competing for the CGA women’s major championships.

When Kennedy Swann from Austin defeated Mary Weinstein from Highlands Ranch 5 and 3 in a scheduled 36-hole final at the 103rd CGA Women’s Match Play on Friday, it marked the third straight CGA women’s major to have been won by a golfer from Texas.

Emily Gilbreth started the trend by winning last year’s CGA Women’s Match Play three months after moving from her lifelong home in Houston to Denver. Then Kristin Glesne of San Antonio claimed the title in the CGA Women’s Stroke Play last month. And Swann made it a Texas trifecta on Friday at The Fox Hill Club in Longmont.

Swann, a junior-to-be on the Clemson golf team who is doing a P.J. Boatwright USGA internship with the Wyoming State Golf Association this summer, trailed 2 down after three holes on Friday. But the 19-year-old rallied by making 11 birdies in her next 30 holes to defeat Weinstein, a University of Denver golfer and the 2017 CWGA Player of the Year.

“This is my first win in a while,” Swann said. “I grew up coming in second a lot to a lot of really good girls from Texas. So I think this is definitely in my top five tournament accomplishments.”

Swann, winner of the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship in the girls 14-year-old age group in 2013, didn’t take the lead on Friday until she birdied the 15th hole. That started a stretch in which she made seven birdies in 13 holes, after which she led 4 up through 27 holes. And on the 33rd hole, she closed out Weinstein with a two-putt birdie.

“Finally I got my putter rolling and I made probably four or five putts between 20 and 40 feet that I drained for birdie,” said Swann (above and left). “That was definitely the best match I played (this week). 

“On the putting green (before the round), my dad and I talked about making sure that everything was square (to the target line). I did that this morning and it fixed everything right up (with her putting stroke). That little inch I was missing putts by in earlier matches, I just started making them today.”

Swann finished 7 under par for 33 holes, while Weinstein was 2 under.

“The bottom line is Kennedy Swann is an amazing player. She’s phenomenal,” said Weinstein (below). “She played her best game today and if I had to lose to anyone, I’m glad it’s Kennedy. She played amazing. Toward the end, it wasn’t my best game, but I gave it my all. It wasn’t enough today, but that’s OK.

“Match play is a different kind of golf. I’m not the best match-play player. I get a lot of pars and I feel like if you want to win in match play you have to make a lot of birdies and a lot of putts. 

“But to make it this far, I’m still proud.”

Swann defeated two 2018 U.S. Women’s Amateur qualifiers — Weinstein and the University of Colorado’s Gillian Vance — en route to claiming the title.

The Clemson golfer, ranked No. 720 in the world in women’s amateur golf, often competes in the same college events as Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster and Wake Forest, the top-ranked player in women’s amateur golf. Kupcho is a two-time winner of the CGA Women’s Match Play.

“We see Jennifer Kupcho at pretty much every (college) tournament and we see her win pretty much every tournament,” Swann said with a smile.

Afterward Friday’s match, Swann dedicated the victory to her grandmother, who passed away in late May.

“I really wanted to play well for her,” she said. “She was definitely one of my No. 1 supporters and biggest fans. She always wanted the live scoring link (for tournaments) even if she couldn’t figure out how to work it. I think she would have been really proud of me this week. I got a couple of lucky bounces out there and I definitely think some of them were from her.”

This summer marks the first time Swann has ever played golf in Colorado. And she’s taken a shine to it.

“It is gorgeous and I hit the ball about 30 yards further, which is amazing,” she said.

For the 20-year-old Weinstein, this week marked her fourth straight top-four finish in a CGA women’s major championship. She’s placed fourth at each of the last two CGA Women’s Stroke Play and lost in the semifinals to Gilbreth last year in the Match Play.

“If (winning a major CGA women’s title) is going to happen, it’s going to happen in stroke play. Next year, I’m ready,” said a determined Weinstein.

For a story on the senior championship match, CLICK HERE.

CGA Women’s Match Play

At The Fox Hill Club in Longmont
TITLE MATCHES

Championship Flight (36 Holes) — Kennedy Swann def. Mary Weinstein, 5 and 3

Championship Flight Consolation — Jaylee Tait def. Jennifer Hankins, 2 and 1

Senior Championship Flight — Tiffany Maurycy def. Kristine Franklin, 20 holes

Senior Championship Flight Consolation — Jennifer Hocking def. Susan Hartwell, 4 and 3

First Flight — Megan Vernon def. Marin Halvorsen, 19 holes

First Flight Consolation — Maddie Kern def. Madison McCambridge, 2 and 1

Second Flight — Haejeong Son def. Jennifer Cassell, 8 and 7

Second Flight Consolation — Amanda Westrick def. Sheila Schroeder, 2 and 1

Third Flight — Veronica Crain def. Amy Hicks, 1 up

Third Flight Consolation — Kelly McCormick def. Jennifer Tempas, 2 up

To view all the brackets from the CGA Women’s Match Play, CLICK HERE.
 

It was the longest final in the senior championship flight of the CGA Women’s Match Play in over a decade, and it ended in fitting fashion.

Tiffany Maurycy of Cherry Creek Country Club sank a 15-foot birdie putt on the 20th hole to defeat Kristine Franklin of Colorado National Golf Club and earn her first individual title in a CGA women’s championship.

“I’m over the moon,” Maurycy said. “I’ve now won state championships in New York, Vermont and Colorado. It’s a real feather in my cap. My dad is a golf pro and I come from a golfing family.

“This is a big deal, there’s no doubt. The high quality of the players here … This is it. I can’t believe that I won.”

In a match in which neither player was ever more than 1 up and in which both led on the front nine and the back nine at The Fox Hill Club in Longmont, Maurycy (left and below) played her final six holes in 2 under par to prevail.

Franklin, a former pro who gave up the game for 23 years until being talked into dusting off the clubs in 2017, was trying to win her first CGA/CWGA title in 32 years. She competed in last year’s U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur and made match play, but her performance in that match convinced her she didn’t want to end her competitive career on a down note.

“For not playing for 23 years, it’s fun to be back playing,” said the 52-year-old Franklin, who won the 1986 CWGA Stroke Play (as Kris Hoos) . “But oh my gosh, I’d forgotten how nerve-wracking it is. But it was a treat.

“To be coming back, it feels good. It really does. It makes me almost want to continue to play. … Now I feel like I’m going to play for maybe a year or so until I can feel good enough to quit again. I just want to quit on a high.”

Maurycy was 1 down in the final after bogeys on the 12th and 13 holes. But she squared the match with a 12-foot birdie on No. 15.

Franklin extended Friday’s match with a couple of nifty recoveries on the 18th and 19th holes. On No. 18, she made a 10-foot putt to save par after thinning her bunker shot over the green. And on the first extra hole, Franklin’s second shot went through a tree and bounced over a bunker to eventually set up another one-putt par. Maurycy got up and down from that same bunker for a par of her own.

On the decisive 20th hole, Franklin (below) missed the green short and left as she wasn’t happy with her iron play on Friday. She subsequently left her pitch on the fringe and missed her long par putt. Just needing to two-putt for the victory, Maurycy drained her 15-foot birdie putt to decide the matter.

“I realized I just needed to get it close,” she said. “I just relaxed and had the pace right. I didn’t remember that it went in. I guess it did. But I really didn’t want to go more holes. After all these days (of matches), I was pretty tired.

“It was all about being present and staying with each shot and not getting ahead of myself and definitely not thinking about an outcome,” added Maurycy, who won her opening match of the week after being 4 down through eight holes to Jennifer Hocking. “… That was the trick through all the matches.”

Indeed, in some respects Maurycy (below) willed herself to win.

“It’s the perseverance and that commitment to believing,” she said. “I’d say ‘believe’ before I hit a lot of shots.”

To get to the final, Maurycy had avenged a 2017 match play loss to now-four-time champion and Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton by beating her in Thursday’s semifinals.

“She’s amazing. I so admire her game,” Maurycy said of Eaton. “That was a big win, a really big win. She just didn’t have the magic she normally has. And I made the putts at the right time that really put the pressure on.”

Friday marked Maurycy’s second victory in a CGA/CWGA championship, having teamed with Kristin Feil to win the 2003 CWGA Brassie title. The 51-year-old from Denver, who has lived in Colorado for two decades, has also won the 1989 New York Women’s State Amateur and the Vermont Women’s Mid-Amateur four times.

For a story on the open-division Women’s Match Play final, CLICK HERE.

Swann, who hails from Austin, Texas, defeated stroke-play medalist Gillian Vance from the University of Colorado 2 and 1 in Thursday’s semifinals at The Fox Hill Club in Longmont.

And Weinstein (pictured in a DU photo), the 2017 CWGA Player of the Year from CommonGround Golf Course, beat Colorado Mesa golfer Hannah More from Pinehurst Country Club, 3 and 2 in the other semi.

The two NCAA Division I college players will square off in a scheduled 36-hole final on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Maurycy advanced to the senior championship final by defeating Eaton 2 and 1 in Thursday’s semifinals. It marked Eaton’s first loss in the event since the 2011 finals, when she fell to Laurie Steenrod. Eaton has won the Senior Match Play each of the last two years since returning following a brief “retirement” from CGA women’s/CWGA events.

Top-seeded Kristine Franklin of Colorado National Golf Club, the 1986 CWGA Stroke Play champion, will face Maurycy in Friday’s scheduled 18-hole senior title match. Franklin, who made match play in last year’s U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, defeated 2014 champion Deb Hughes in Thursday’s semis, 4 and 2.

All told, on the line Friday will be championship and consolation finals for the open championship, senior championship and first through third flights.

To view the results from the CGA Women’s Match Play, CLICK HERE.
 

No. 1-seeded Gillian Vance from the University of Colorado defeated teammate Jaclyn Murray 6 and 4 in the opening match, then beat Alexis Chan of The Links Golf Club 3 and 1 to make the final four.

Mary Weinstein of the University of Denver and CommonGround Golf Course, like Vance soon headed for the U.S. Women’s Amateur, scored two decisive wins — 4 and 3 over Amelia Lee of The Ridge at Castle Pines North and 6 and 5 over BYU golfer Anna Kennedy of Colorado Golf Club — to also make the semis. (Weinstein is pictured in a DU photo.)

Colorado Mesa golfer Hannah More, of Pinehurst Country Club, defeated Gilbreth in the quarterfinals, 2 and 1. Rounding out the semifinalists is Clemson’s Kennedy Swann, who needed 19 holes to beat Caitlyn Skavdahl in the quarterfinals.

Vance will face Swann and Weinstein will take on More in Thursday’s semifinals of the championship flight.

Meanwhile, in the senior championship flight, the top three seeds won their quarterfinal matches on Wednesday. That included stroke-play medalist Kristine Franklin of Colorado National Golf Club, Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton and Tiffany Maurycy of Cherry Creek Country Club, in addition to fifth-seeded Deb Hughes of Green Valley Ranch Golf Club.

Eaton, who is seeking to become the winningest player in CGA women’s/CWGA championship history, scored an 8 and 6 victory over Lisa Lee of Boulder Country Club. Franklin won 7 and 6 over Kathy Malpass of Hiwan Golf Club. Maurycy topped Jennifer Hocking of Cherokee Ridge Golf Couse 3 and 2, while Hughes prevailed 4 and 3 over Susan Hartwell of West Woods Golf Club, who went to the round of 32 at last year’s U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur.

In Thursday’s semifinals, it will be Franklin vs. Hughes and Eaton vs. Maurycy.

The winners of Thursday’s matches in all of the flights will play in Friday’s finals, with the championship flight title match being a scheduled 36-hole affair.

To view the results from the CGA Women’s Match Play, CLICK HERE.
 

Vance (left in a CU photo), who recently qualified for the U.S. Women’s Amateur, shot an even-par 72, making three birdies and three bogeys on the process. She’ll play CU teammate Jaclyn Murray in Wednesday’s round of 16.

Another player who has qualified for the U.S. Women’s Am, University of Denver golfer Mary Weinstein of CommonGround Golf Course, was second-best on Tuesday with a 3-over-par 75 that included two birdies.

Four golfers shared third place in stroke play at 76, including defending champion Emily Gilbreth of Highlands Ranch Golf Club.

In the senior championship division, Franklin, the 1986 CGA Women’s Stroke Play champion and a 2017 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur qualifier, posted the only sub-par round of the day with 1-under 71. She made three birdies and two bogeys on Tuesday.

Four-time Senior Match Play champion Kim Eaton, a Colorado Golf Hall of Famer who is trying to become the all-time winningest player in CGA women’s/CWGA championships, placed second in stroke play at 75. She carded three birdies, four bogeys and a double bogey.

Tiffany Maurycy of Cherry Creek Country Club was the only other senior championship player to break 80 on Tuesday, shooting 76.

Match play will begin on Wednesday for the 16 women in the open championship flight and for the eight each in the senior championship and the first, second and third flights. The competition will conclude on Friday with championship matches, including a 36-holer for the open-division finalists.

For scores from Tuesday’s stroke-play round and to view the brackets, CLICK HERE.

Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton, who won her first CGA/CWGA championship at the 1977 Colorado Junior Match Play, will attempt to make the CGA Women’s Senior Match Play title No. 26 on her Colorado state resume. If she does prevail at The Fox Hill Club, she’ll break the career record of Carol Flenniken, another Colorado Golf Hall of Famer.

The Women’s Match Play will begin with a stroke-play qualifying round on Tuesday (July 10) for players attempting to qualify for the championship or senior championship divisions. Then match play begins on Wednesday, with 16 players advancing to the open championship bracket and eight to that of the senior championship. The competition will conclude on Friday with championship matches in each flight, including a 36-holer for the open-division finalists.

Eaton, now a full-time resident of Arizona, tied Flenniken’s all-time mark by teaming up with Janet Moore to claim the title in the CGA Women’s Brassie in May. In addition to that being Eaton’s 25th career CGA/CWGA title, it was Moore’s 21st. But the latter won’t be competing in the Match Play as she qualified for the inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open at Chicago Golf Club.

Eaton has won four Stroke Plays, one Match Play, five Senior Stroke Plays, four Senior Match Plays, one Junior Match Play, seven Brassies, one Mashie, one Chapman and one Mixed.

Joining Eaton in the senior field in Longmont will be 2014 champion Deb Hughes; Susan Hartwell, who made the round of 32 — along with Eaton — at last year’s U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur; and Kristine Franklin, who likewise advanced to match play at the national Senior Women’s Am in 2017.

As for the open division, Emily Gilbreth, a former University of Houston golfer, will be back to defend her title, while 2017 runner-up Maddie Kern will also return.

Likewise in the open field are University of Denver golfer Mary Weinstein and University of Colorado player Gillian Vance, both of whom recently qualified for the U.S. Women’s Amateur; and former Match Play runner-up Jaylee Tait.

For Tuesday’s pairings, CLICK HERE.