SCOTTSDALE (Ariz.) — After 36-holes of stroke play played over two days and six rounds of matchplay spread over four days at Troon Country Club, Sarah Gallagher won the 61st U.S. Senior Woman’s Amateur Championship.
In the final, Gallagher (50) faced Brenda Corrie Kuehn (mother of college all-star Rachel Kuehn). Kuehn has played in over 45 USGA championships including nine U.S. women’s open. Gallagher, a former social studies sixth-grade teacher, now works in financial planning. It was her first Senior Am.
Gallagher took a 4-up advantage after birdieing the next four holes. They had tied the hole on the first. Kuehn and Gallagher were followed by a crowd of 70 people when Kuehn aced the ninth hole to make it 3-1. However, the lead was quickly restored to 4-1 after Gallagher birdied the 12.
Then things started to get interesting.
- Kuehn made it 3-up by birdieing the 13th par-3.
- Kuehn won the 14th with a par, putting him 2 ahead
- Gallagher birdied 15th hole, a 113-yard par-3 to move to 3 ahead with three holes to go
- Kuehn won the 16th hole with a par
- Kuehn won the par-5 17, with a birdie.
Gallagher now leads by one with just one game to go. Game on.
Gallagher stubbed the chip on the 18th. She hit an 8-iron to her elevated back pin. Kuehn hit her second shot on the front edge of the green, and then had to putt across the entire green. She ended up making a bogey by three-putting. Gallagher, an ex-Florida Gator now living in Georgia poured her bogey into the hole to secure the victory.
She immediately hugged her friend Erin Packer, who was also her caddie. The two of them soaked up the victory.
She said, “I will probably hold it on my lap in the airplane.” The trophy has no official name, but is nicknamed Big Bertha. “I will put it on my kitchen table. No, I will put it on the kitchen island. No, I’m not going to do that.
My kids will fill it with stuff.
Sweet victory in Scottsdale
Sarah Gallagher wins the 61st US Senior Womens Am! pic.twitter.com/zvnHGAbtWI
USGA (@USGA October 5, 2020
Gallagher admitted that holding a lead that was shrinking increased the tension, but she also knew it would never be easy.
“Brenda’s, she’s an incredible competitor,” said she about her 4-up to 1-up lead. “I knew that she would start making putts. She’s amazing. “I knew I had be patient.”
Gallagher only lost three holes after 103 holes.
“I liked if I kept hitting it in the play, I forced her to continue playing the way she played the first 14 hole,” said Kuehn. She admitted that she didn’t have much confidence going into the tournament and had a scheduled flight for Tuesday. Then she rebooked the flight for Wednesday, before changing it again.
Kuehn, Gallagher and Kuehn will earn a U.S. Women’s Amateur spot by reaching the final in 2023. They also gain entry to the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur in 2024 at Braeburn Country Club, West Newton, Massachusetts and the U.S. Women’s Senior Women’s Amateur in 2024 at Broadmoor Golf Club, Seattle, Washington.
Troon CC Fun Facts
- Sarah LeBrun Ingram set a record for the tournament on Tuesday, winning consecutive matches in just 24 holes. She is a 1993 U.S. Women’s Amateur finalist and three-time U.S. Women’s Mid Amateur champion. In the morning, she defeated Tara Joy Connelly 8-6. She then defeated Jackie Foster of England in the afternoon with 7 and 6. Previous mark was 26 holes.
- Linda Jeffery made a hole in one on Wednesday. It didn’t count. Troon Country Club shares a green with its second hole. Jeffery was on the par-3 7th hole, but the ball went to the other side of the green. It ended up in the cup at the 2nd. The USGA noted that the rule gave her a relief and free drop from the putting surface. She made bogey.
- Kathy Hartwiger, of Pinehurst in North Carolina, sank a 39-foot-long putt to finish off an 8-7 victory over Wendy Ohlmeyer, of Ladera Ranch in California. This was the largest margin for victory ever recorded at the Senior Women’s Amateur Championship.
- Shelly Stouffer, the defending champion from Canada, was eliminated during the Round of 16. In the 61-year history of this tournament, only nine golfers have successfully defended their title.
- Lara Tennant is a three-time U.S. Senior Women’s Am winner. She won the medal after 36 holes. She won by three strokes after finishing 2-over-146.
- Nicki Stricker, the wife of Steve Stricker, was a pre-tournament headliner. Nicki Stricker is the wife of Steve Stricker. She made the field, but didn’t advance past the 36-hole stroke play portion of the tournament.
