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By Chris Lang
HOT SPRINGS — The championship flight brackets in both the 63rd Virginia State Golf Association Senior Women’s Amateur and the 2nd VSGA Super Senior Women’s Amateur championships held mostly to form on Tuesday, setting up a fantastic third day of competition at The Omni Homestead Resort’s Old Course.
The defending champions of the events—Springfield’s Mimi Hoffman (Senior) and Salem’s Dot Bolling (Super Senior)—won matches on Tuesday to advance. The Senior Women’s Amateur quarterfinals and the Super Senior Women’s Amateur semifinals will be held on Wednesday.
The Super Senior Women’s Amateur Championship 18-hole final match is scheduled for Thursday, as are the semifinals of the Senior Women’s Amateur. The Senior Women’s Amateur will conclude Friday with a scheduled 18-hole championship match.
63rd VSGA Senior Women’s Amateur Championship
The top eight seeds all won their matches on Tuesday, setting up a chalk bracket for Wednesday’s quarterfinals.
In addition to Hoffman, the stroke-play qualifying co-medalists—Alexandria’s Shelley Savage and Charlottesville’s Natalie Easterly—advanced to the quarterfinals. The path was certainly tougher for Easterly, who won this event in 2008 and 2018 and needed a furious rally to defeat No. 15 seed Cindy Hollingshead of Manakin Sabot in Tuesday’s round of 16.
Hollingshead made birdie on the par-5 15th to take a 2-up lead heading across Highway 220 to the closing stretch of holes. Easterly chipped away, making a par on No. 16 to cut the lead to 1 up before making another par on No. 17 to even the match. She made par on No. 18 while Hollingshead made bogey, securing a 1-up win.
Easterly’s opponent on Wednesday, Keswick’s Andrea Miller, figures to be a bit more rested. Miller, making her debut in the event, won the first five holes against Richmond’s Peggy Freeman and closed her 9-and-7 victory with a par on the par-3 11th hole.
The other half of the bottom part of the bracket will feature the No. 3 seed Hoffman and No. 6 seed Diane Garstka in a matchup of Springfield residents. Hoffman, who is seeking her record sixth title in the event, quickly built a 2-up lead through three holes against Richmond’s Karla Knight, held a 3-up lead at the turn and won 4 and 3 when she matched Knight’s birdie on No. 15.
Garstka ousted Alexandria’s Linda DiVall, the No. 11 seed and a three-time Senior Women’s Amateur champion, 3 and 1. Garstka never trailed. She went 2 up with a birdie on No. 5 and her lead didn’t slip after that. She made a par on No. 17 to close out the match.
On the top half of the bracket, Savage and No. 8 seed Joan Gardner each cruised to set up a quarterfinal matchup of Alexandria residents. Savage, a three-time champion, raced to a 3-up lead after four holes against Great Falls’ Bev Lane and closed out a 3-and-2 victory when both players made par on No. 16.
Gardner turned a tight match with Springfield’s Kay Tyler into a runaway at the start of the inward nine, winning the first three holes on the back to push a 2-up lead to 5-up. She closed out a 5-and-4 win with a par on No. 14.
The final quarterfinal on Wednesday will feature three-time champion Boodie McGurn of Richmond and Glen Allen’s Joanne Kitusky, who jumped Richmond’s CJ George early, taking a 3-up lead after four holes before rolling to a 5-and-4 win. McGurn had a tougher time with Reston’s Amy Phelan. McGurn held a 3-up lead after 10 holes before Phelan rattled off wins on the next three holes to tie the match. After the players tied on 14, McGurn returned the favor, winning three straight holes to close out a 3-and-1 victory.
The Senior Women’s Amateur also featured play in the first flight for those who didn’t qualify for the championship flight. For results, please click on the “Event Home” link above.
2nd VSGA Super Senior Women’s Amateur Championship
The finalists from last year’s inaugural Super Senior Women’s Amateur (for players 65 and older) will meet a step earlier in 2020. The top seed Bolling and fourth-seeded Fran Hensley of Ridgeway each won their quarterfinals and will meet in a semifinal Wednesday morning.
Bolling shook off a challenge from Cloverdale’s Janet Cochrane, gaining separation in a tight match with wins on Nos. 13 and 14 on her way to a 3-and-2 victory. Hensley had less trouble against Salem’s Kailynn Sprinkle, winning the first five holes before cruising to a 6-and-5 win. Bolling defeated Hensley 2 and 1 in last year’s championship match.
In the bottom half of the bracket, stroke-play qualifying co-medalist Tillie Aguiar of Manakin Sabot made a clutch par on No. 18 to tie her match with Midlothian’s Susan Gallienne and won with another par on the first extra hole.
After her 19-hole win, Aguiar will meet No. 6 seed Maggie Balch of Maidens on Wednesday. After losing the first hole, Balch won the next three against Lorton’s Marie Anderson to take a 2-up lead. She secured her 4-and-3 win with a par on No. 15.
The Super Senior Women’s Amateur also featured play in first and second flights for those who didn’t qualifying for the championship flight. For results, please click on the “Event Home” link above.
Lang is the VSGA’s manager of media and communications.
63rd VSGA Senior Women’s Amateur Championship
At The Omni Homestead Resort (Old), Hot Springs
Par 72, 4,963 yards
Championship flight
Tuesday’s round of 16 matches
#1 Shelley Savage (Alexandria) def. #16 Bev Lane (Great Falls), 3 and 2
#8 Joan Gardner (Alexandria) def. #9 Kay Tyler (Springfield), 5 and 4
#4 Joanne Kitusky (Glen Allen) def. #13 CJ George (Richmond), 5 and 4
#5 Boodie McGurn (Richmond) def. #12 Amy Phelan (Reston), 3 and 1
#2 Natalie Easterly (Charlottesville) def. #15 Cindy Hollingshead (Manakin Sabot), 1 up
#7 Andrea Miller (Keswick) def. #10 Peggy Freeman (Richmond), 9 and 7
#3 Mimi Hoffman (Springfield) def. #14 Karla Knight (Richmond), 4 and 3
#6 Diane Garstka (Springfield) def. #11 Linda DiVall (Alexandria), 3 and 1
Wednesday’s quarterfinal matches
#1 Savage vs. #8 Gardner, 10:08 a.m.
#4 Kitusky vs. #5 McGurn, 10:16 a.m.
#2 Easterly vs. #7 Miller, 10:24 a.m.
#3 Hoffman vs. #6 Garstka, 10:32 a.m.
2nd VSGA Super Senior Women’s Amateur Championship
At The Omni Homestead Resort (Old), Hot Springs
Par 72, 4,823 yards
Championship flight
Tuesday’s quarterfinal matches
#1 Dot Bolling (Salem) def. #8 Janet Cochrane (Cloverdale), 3 and 2
#4 Fran Hensley (Ridgeway) def. #5 Kailynn Sprinkle (Salem), 6 and 5
#2 Tillie Aguiar (Manakin Sabot) def. #7 Susan Gallienne (Midlothian), 19 holes
#6 Maggie Balch (Maidens) def. #3 Marie Anderson (Lorton), 4 and 3
Wednesday’s semifinal matches
#1 Bolling vs. #4 Hensley, 8:16 a.m.
#2 Aguiar vs. #6 Balch, 8:24 a.m.