On Monday at the Country Club of Colorado in Colorado Springs, there was a little of both.
Seven Coloradans qualified for the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, and three of those seven are in double digits on their USGA national championship resumes.
Marilyn Hardy, a part-time resident of Gunnison, is right around 40 USGA championships and will be playing in her seventh Senior Women’s Am in her seventh year of eligibility.
“Anytime you can qualify for a USGA event, it’s a badge of honor,” said the 56-year-old Hardy.
In a similar vicinity is Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Janet Moore of Centennial, who is now five-for-five in advancing to the Senior Women’s Amateur, with this year’s being her 28th USGA national event overall.
“Which is really impressive until you hear Carol Semple Thompson’s 100-plus,” Moore says with a laugh. “Then it’s like, ‘Oh.’ I remember somebody said, ‘Janet, that’s so good.’ Then you go to the players’ dinner (at USGA events) and there’s 70, 80 and (Semple Thompson’s 100-plus). It’s a different league. There’s a whole different realm out there.”
As for Tiffany Maurycy of Denver, she’s headed to her 11th USGA championship, but her first U.S. Senior Women’s Am.
“There’s no better event that I’ve ever played in than a USGA event, and I’ve been lucky enough to have played in Amateurs, Mid-Ams, the Four-Ball and now the Senior,” the 51-year-old Maurycy said. “This is now my drive. It really is. It’s just an incredible experience.”
Joining those three in earning spots Monday in the national championship — which is set for Oct. 6-11 at Orchid Island Golf & Beach Club in Vero Beach, Fla. — were former professional Kristine Franklin of Broomfield, and the Colorado Springs trio of Jennifer Hocking, Deb Pearson and Helene Afeman. (Six of the qualifiers — with the exception of Franklin — are pictured, from left: Hardy, Maurycy, Moore, Pearson, Afeman and Hocking.)
A total of 28 players teed it up Monday at the Country Club of Colorado, with those seven advancing.
Hardy, who went to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Senior Women’s Am in 2013, earned medalist honors in Colorado Springs with a 5-over-par 76. Franklin, winner of this year’s CGA Women’s Senior Stroke Play, shot a 77. Maurycy, who defeated Franklin in the finals of the 2018 CGA Senior Match Play, posted a 79 thanks to playing her last eight holes in 1 over par. Moore had a similarly strong finish, playing her final six holes in even par for an 81. And Hocking, Pearson and Afeman carded 82s, with Pearson making three birdies on the day, Afeman two and Hocking one.
Hardy, who has made it to the semifinals of the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur, was 1 over par for the day through 10 holes on Monday and finished with 13 pars and five bogeys.
Franklin, who advanced to the match play round of 64 at last year’s U.S. Senior Women’s Am, was 7 over par through 13 holes, but rallied by playing her last five in 1 under.
Suffice it to say Franklin was a little out of sorts early in her round as she took some medicine in an attempt to clear up her sinuses, which didn’t leave her in peak playing condition. “It made me very jittery,” the 52-year-old said. In addition, she received a text on Monday morning notifying her that her credit cards had been stolen.
“So I didn’t get here in the time I was hoping, and I didn’t start out well,” Franklin said. “I think it was a culmination of everything. But it got better.”
After losing her opening match 5 and 4 in the U.S. Senior Women’s Am last year — the year she returned to competition after an 18-year layoff — Franklin is happy to have another chance at the national championship so soon.
“I will be so excited to be back,” she said. “Even if I lose in the first (match), I just know it will go better. I’ll feel more comfortable and give that person more of a fight. I’m excited. I’ve got another chance.”
Hardy and Moore both have qualified for three USGA championships in 2018 — the inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open, the upcoming Women’s Mid-Am and the Senior Women’s Am.
Moore is just happy to have advanced on Monday; with her 81, which included going 5 over par on holes 11 and 12 combined, she had her doubts.
“I honestly didn’t think that I’d be going with an 81, so I’m thrilled,” the 54-year-old said. “I’ve been working on some swing changes and I know it sounds crazy shooting an 81, but I’m getting close to playing pretty well. So I’m excited about that.”
As for Hardy, as many USGA championships as she’s competed in, she’s wary about getting complacent in any qualifying tournament.
“You’ve got to do it,” she said. “You can never take it for granted. It’s golf. It’s never easy.”
On Monday, as is almost always the case during qualifiers, Hardy was accompanied by husband/caddie Jim Hardy, a highly-regarded golf instructor.
Among those on site during Monday’s qualifier was Colorado Sports Hall of Famer Dow Finsterwald, who won the PGA Championship 60 years ago this summer. Finsterwald, of course, was a longtime director of golf at The Broadmoor nearby.
U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Qualifying
At Par-71 Country Club of Colorado in Colorado Springs
ADVANCE TO NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Marilyn Hardy, Gunnison 37-39–76
Kristine Franklin, Broomfield 41-36–77
Tiffany Maurycy, Denver 42-37–79
Janet Moore, Centennial 41-40–81
Jennifer Hocking, Colorado Springs 43-39–82
Deb Pearson, Colorado Springs 44-38–82
Helene Afeman, Colorado Springs 38-44–82
ALTERNATES (In Order)
Nancy Ziereis, Centennial 43-40–83
Laurie Steenrod, Aurora 44-39–83
For complete results, CLICK HERE.
]]>The 40 players who are scheduled to vie for 10 spots in the U.S. Senior Women’s Am include seven golfers who have qualified at least twice in Colorado for this national championship:
Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Janet Moore, who was medalist at Cordillera in last year’s qualifier; part-time Gunnison resident Marilyn Hardy; Deb Hughes of Denver; Kathy Malpass of Evergreen; Mary Doyen of Denver; Bev Hoffenberg of Greenwood Village; and Jennifer Hocking of Colorado Springs. And several others in the field have qualified in Colorado for the Senior Women’s Am once.
Hardy may be the most accomplished player in the field in USGA championships. She was a quarterfinalist in the 2013 U.S. Senior Women’s Am and has made it to the semifinals and the quarterfinals (in separate years) of the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur. Twice in the past three years at the Senior Women’s Am, she lost to the golfer who would go on to win the national title.
The 10 players who earn national championship berths this year in Colorado will compete Sept. 17-22 at Wellesley Country Club (pictured) in Massachusetts.
For Thursday’s pairings, CLICK HERE.
]]>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.)