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By Chris Lang
LORTON — The key word for Caroline Curtis is confidence. She lost it toward the end of last season, when she went through a major swing change. It started to return this year, albeit slowly, once she became more and more comfortable with the mechanics of her new swing.
After a rough opening nine at the 92nd VSGA Women’s Amateur Championship on Monday, Curtis (Hermitage CC) appears to have found her confidence once again. She posted a 3-under-par 68 on Tuesday at Laurel Hill Golf Club in the second round of stroke-play qualifying and will be the top seed when the top 16 players in the championship begin match play on Wednesday morning.
Just like in 2016, Curtis shot a two-day 138 to earn stroke-play medalist honors. Last year, she advanced to the semifinals for the second straight year before falling to eventual champion Abby Portyrata in the semifinals. With that renewed confidence in her swing, she’s hoping to make a deeper run over the next two days.
“A lot of it is mental. It’s just trusting it,” Curtis said of the swing change. “This year, I’ve started to trust it more than I did last year. Once you fully put everything into your swing change, it really turns out well.”
Curtis shot a 3-over 39 on the front nine in Monday’s opening round, but she played Laurel Hill’s demanding track at 7 under for the remaining 27 holes. She finished four shots clear of No. 2 seed Alexandra Austin (Springfield G&CC), who was the only other player on Tuesday to post an under-par round, a 1-under 70.
“Today, my front nine was a lot like my back nine yesterday,” Curtis said. “I just felt really comfortable out there and the putts were falling for me. I was putting myself in a lot of good positions and I was able to capitalize on it.”
Curtis will open match play for the second straight year against No. 16 seed Diana Domenech (VSGA Junior Golf Circuit), a rising senior at Mills Godwin in Richmond who shot a two-day 156 to make match play by a stroke. Curtis defeated Domenech 4 and 2 last July at James River CC in Newport News.
Curtis will find some tough opponents on her side of the bracket. Two-time VSGA Junior Girls’ champion Victoria Tip-Aucha (VSGA Junior Golf Circuit) earned the No. 4 seed after posting a two-day 146. Amanda Hollandsworth (Great Oaks CC), who reached the championship match last year at James River and won the VSGA Women’s Stroke Play Championship in June, is the No. 5 seed after finishing at 147.
Curtis has won the last two Richmond Women’s Golf Association Amateur titles, and like the VSGA Women’s Amateur, that tournament features four rounds of match play to determine a champion.
“I think you definitely get experience in any tournament you play in, especially match play tournaments and big tournaments like this one,” Curtis said. “It’s definitely important that I have those under my belt, and that I can remember them and go back to them this week as things move on.”
Austin and Greenlief, who won the VSGA Women’s Four-Ball Championship last month and were partners at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship the last two years, headline the other side of the bracket. Austin, the 2016 VSGA Women’s Stroke Play champion, played a bogey-free back nine for the second straight day. She made birdies on 14 and 17 to move to 1 under for the day.
Greenlief, who led after Monday’s round, was even through 13 holes Tuesday but played the final five holes at 4 over and finished at 75. Greenlief will open match play against current Longwood player Sirena Walsh in a matchup of two International Country Club members.
Also on that side of the bracket is two-time defending champion Abby Portyrata (The First Tee of Greater Richmond), who finished in a three-way tie for ninth at 151 and earned the No. 10 seed.
Portyrata shot 76-75 and will open match play against Lyndsey Hunnell (Hanging Rock GC), who finished in a tie for seventh with Sophia Montenegro (Reston National GC) at 150.
“I really haven’t played a lot of golf [recently],” Portyrata said. “I went back to school [at Old Dominion] but my schedule really didn’t match up with our team practices. Haven’t played a whole lot. It’s just figuring out the short game, that’s difficult.”
Portyrata was the No. 4 seed last year when she won her second straight title. She hasn’t lost a match at the VSGA Women’s Amateur since 2013, when she fell to Hollandsworth in 19 holes in the semifinals. She didn’t participate in the 2014 championship.
“I don’t really get psyched out a whole lot,” Portyrata said. “People don’t bother me. I think that’s a combination of my normal demeanor and just playing. I like match play. I think it takes the pressure off a lot more than stroke play does for me at least, because it’s just one hole at a time, one shot at a time. … You know what you’re up against, and I think it’s fun.”
Chris Lang is the Editor of Virginia Golfer Magazine and Manager, Digital Media for the VSGA.