2023 VSGA Senior and Super Senior Women's Amateur Championships
Championship website | Live scoring | Preview | Record book (Senior) | Record book (Super Senior)
Dates: Monday, August 7-Friday, August 11
Format: One round of stroke-play qualifying for the championship flight in each championship. Top 16 advance to the Senior championship flight; top 8 advance to the Super Senior championship flight. Wednesday: Senior quarterfinals, super senior semifinals. Thursday: Senior semifinals, super senior championship. Friday: Senior championship. There will also be non-championship flights in each championship.
Host site: The Omni Homestead Resort (Old Course)
Day 5: Andrea Miller wins fourth straight Senior Women's Amateur
(Bev Lane and Andrea Miller. Credit: Chris Lang/VSGA)
HOT SPRINGS -- Andrea Miller predicted the day before that Friday's championship battle with Bev Lane in the 66th Virginia State Golf Association Senior Women's Amateur Championship at The Omni Homestead Resort's Old Course was going to be "a heck of a battle." She wasn't wrong.
Miller capped her record fourth straight championship in the event by getting up and down from behind the green on the par-4 17th for birdie, giving her a 2-and-1 victory over Lane in a tightly contested match that featured a little bit of everything.
It had the underdog Lane going 2-up through five holes thanks to an immaculate short game that put extensive pressure on Miller. It had Miller taking the lead for good on the ninth hole with an ace. Then it had Lane staving off elimination on the par-3 16th when she nailed a 12-foot birdie putt from behind the hole.
In the end, Miller was just a little better, and her place in VSGA history is secured.
"It's a bit overwhelming, it feels incredible," Miller said. "I really didn't think it was going to happen, especially when I watched how well Bev was playing all week. This was by far the most difficult. And quite frankly, I played the best golf I've ever played here this week. I'm just super proud, and I'll never forget this day."
The tightly contested match had a few distinct turning points. On the par-4 6th, Miller hit her drive left into thick rough but managed to reach the green in regulation and two-putt for par. Lane was short of the green in two and was unable to get up-and-down for par, giving Miller her first hole win of the match. Miller won the next hole to tie it, then took the lead with the hole-in-one on 9, Miller's first in a competitive round.
"I had a feeling before I hit it," said Miller, who hit a 50-degree wedge from 114 yards. "The wind had set up just right, and right when I hit it, I said, 'Oh, that's good.'
Miller admitted she needed to settle herself a little bit after the ace.
"My adrenaline was pumping," she said. "Fortunately, we had a pretty good wait on the next tee box. But I did dribble it off the tee. The adrenaline was going pretty hard there. I took a lot of deep breaths, tried to walk around a little bit. By the time I got to my second shot on 10, I was over it."
Miller remained 1-up going to the 12th hole. Both players hit the fairway with their drives, but Miller's approach screamed left, over the cart path and into tall grass, where she was unable to find it. Under the penalty of stroke-and-distance, she hit her fourth shot onto the green but missed the par putt, settling for bogey six.
Lane was just short of the green on her approach, but her chip went long and she was unable to two-putt for par and take advantage of Miller's miscue. Miller remained 1-up heading to 13.
"I underestimated the lie," Lane said. "It was thinner than I thought, even though it was in the first cut."
"Did I feel like a got away with it a little bit? Yes, with the bogey," Miller said.
After Miller made birdie to win 13, Lane countered with a birdie on 14. Miller answered with another on 15, and Lane with another on 16. (She noted that she had not hit that green at any point in the week prior to Friday). Miller headed to the short par-4 17th with a 1-up edge.
"I never felt out of it," Lane said.
Lane's drive was down the middle, and Miller waited for the green to clear before hitting her drive. She not only hit the green on the downhill hill, she went through the green, with the ball settling in a rough patch a couple of feet from the edge of the fringe. She asked for relief due to patchy ground with holes where a tree had recently been removed and received it. Miller then hit a near-perfect chip that almost went in the hole. Lane conceded the tap-in birdie and just missed her attempt to tie the hole and extend the match.
"I am honored and privileged to be here, and I love playing in VSGA events," Lane said. "The Homestead has really upped their game with the range and the course. Those greens were incredible. I really, really enjoyed playing this week with these incredibly great course conditions."
Notable:
- Finals were contest in four non-championship senior flights as well:
- First flight: Cindy Hollingshead def. Lisa Mulford, 2 and 1
- Second flight: Karla Knight def. Lisa Jenkins, 1 up
- Third flight: Mary Vaden Eisenstadt def Moira Robinson, 4 and 2
- Fourth flight: Suki Button def. Joyce Barnish, 3 and 1 (Thursday)
View this post on Instagram
Day 4: DiVall claims Super Senior Women's Amateur title
(Shawn McCullough, left, and champion Linda DiVall. Credit: Chris Lang/VSGA)
HOT SPRINGS -- Mount Vernon Country Club does not have a super senior women's championship. Strangely enough, though, the Virginia State Golf Association's Super Senior Women's Amateur has become a de facto Mount Vernon club championship in the 65-plus age division.
In a rematch of last year's final, Linda DiVall bested fellow Mount Vernon member Shawn McCullough 4 and 3 on Thursday at The Omni Homestead Resort's Old Course to win the 5th VSGA Super Senior Women's Amateur. McCullough defeated her longtime friend 3 and 2 in last year's final. DiVall, the defending VSGA Super Senior Women's Stroke Play champion, earned her fourth overall VSGA title at The Homestead. She's also won three Senior Women's Amateurs.
DiVall got off to fast start in Thursday's final, jumping to a 4-up lead after six holes. McCullough never got any closer, as DiVall played free and relaxed and made very few mistakes in the title match.
"I think I was just much more determined this year," DiVall said. "I've been working really hard. And even though I got off to a fast start, everybody knows Shawn is a great competitor. At the turn, I just said I was even. I needed to keep on playing.
"Playing in this competition, I was more peaceful this time. I don't want to say I was relaxed, but I was just a little calmer. I still swung too fast too many times, but I was really calm in my short game. The faith I had in my short game made a huge difference. If I don't hit a green, I know I can get up and down. I've been working on my putting, and it paid off."
To wit, DiVall hit it close enough on the final hole, the 15th, that a simple two-putt for par was going to be enough to close out the match, once McCullough had missed her par putt.
"Shawn and I have been playing for five decades now," DiVall said. "There's a great familiarity with each other and a great respect for each others' game, and that's really what it's all about."
Additionally, the championship match in the 66th VSGA Senior Women's Amateur is set, as the top two seeds advance to Friday morning's final. Three-time defending champion Andrea Miller finished out another opponent early, defeating Ginny Jung 5 and 4 in her semifinal match. Bev Lane rallied in the second semifinal, erasing Kristin Shifflett's 2-up lead after 16 holes by winning the final three holes to win in 19 holes and secure her first trip to the championship match, which is scheduled to begin at 9:03 a.m.
Lane was stroke-play qualifying medalist in this championship in 2017. She made pars on the final three holes to complete her comeback against Shifflett, who was making her Senior Women's Amateur debut. Lane opened an early 2-up lead after two holes before Shifflett quickly rallied to tie the match with a birdie on No. 5. It was tight from then on out, with neither playing holding more than a 1-up edge until Shifflett went 2-up after a par on 16.
Miller has yet to play past the 15th hole in any match this week. She won the first four holes against Jung, a first-time semifinalist, and led by 2-up or more the rest of the way.
Noteable:
- Miller is seeking to be the first player to win four straight Senior Women's Amateur titles. She'll be facing her fourth different opponent, having defeated Boodie McGurn, Joanne Kitusky, and Kay Tyler to win her first three titles.
- With a win, Miller would not only set the mark for consecutive victories, she'd move to second on the all-time wins list with four, tied with Doris O'Brien. Three players have won the title five times: Mimi Hoffman, Audrey Najjum, and Peggy Woodard.
- Lane won her first two matches 3 and 1, and 7 and 5. Shifflett went to extra holes for the second time in three matches, needing 21 holes to beat Hoffman in the round of 16.
- Finals were contested in five Super Senior non-championship flights on Thursday:
- First flight: Joy Cimburke def. Susan Gallienne, 3 and 2
- Second flight: Molly Meem def. Mary Huneke, 2 and 1
- Third flight: Chris Miles def. Sun Vess, 19 holes
- Fourth flight: Ellen McGowan def. Diana Nunley, 6 and 5
- Fifth flight: Elly Moyers def. Linda Nelms, 5 and 4
Quotable:
- "It definitely increases the pressure. It is in the back of my mind, and has been since I started here. Trying to go all the way through this tournament this year feels more daunting than it has previously. When you look at this competition, especially the matches today, and some of the results I've seen the last couple of days, it's daunting to say the least." -- Miller on trying to win her fourth straight title
- "There were definitely holes out there that I had to turn on some short-game magic, some scrambling magic. I felt like every time Ginny stood over the ball, she was going to make her putt, and she did on 8, which forced me to make a really good putt. So no, it's not been easy, not easy at all." -- Miller
- "She's got a really steady game and she's been playing some amazing golf this week. So it's going to be one heck of a match, no doubt." -- Miller on Lane
- "It's awesome. It's cool. It's a privilege to be in the finals." -- Lane
- "I've never played with Andrea, so this will be a treat. My goal is just to hang with her." -- Lane
- "It's about my game, not hers. I have to just focus on me, every shot. I've been staying in the moment. No past, no future, staying in the moment. It's something new. Joey (Lane, her son and past VSGA Amateur champion) has been working with a new guy and that's some of what he teaches. He came out with a new book, which I've started to read. It's helped a lot." -- Lane
View this post on Instagram
Day 3
(Pictured: Shawn McCullough. Credit: Abby All/VSGA)
HOT SPRINGS -- A rematch of standout Mount Vernon Country Club members is set for the championship match at the 5th Virginia State Golf Association Super Senior Women's Amateur Championship.
Top seed Shawn McCullough and No. 3 seed Linda DiVall each won their semifinal matches on Wednesday at the Omni Homestead Resort's Old Course, setting up a rematch of last year's title match on Thursday at 11:16 a.m. McCullough won last year's match 3 and 2.
In the 66th VSGA Senior Women's Amateur Championship, three-time defending champion Andrea Miller rolled along in her quest to become the first player to win four straight titles in the event, beating Joanne Kitusky 6 and 5 in a rematch of the 2021 Senior Women's Amateur title match. She'll face Ginny Jung, who ousted past champion Mary Cabriele in 20 holes in another quarterfinal.
There is guaranteed to be a first-time finalist on the other side of the bracket, as Bev Lane and Kristin Shifflett each won their quarterfinal matches on Wednesday and will meet in a Thursday semifinal. The championship match in the Senior Women's Amateur is scheduled for Friday morning.
Notable:
- McCullough topped Becki Davis 4 and 3, winning the final two holes with pars to close out the match. DiVall had a tougher task, defeating Boodie McGurn in 19 holes in a matchup of past champions of the Senior Women's Amateur. McGurn had tied the match with a par on 18 to send it to extra holes, but DiVall countered with a birdie on No. 1 to seal the win.
- DiVall won the VSGA Super Senior Women's Stroke Play Championship last summer at Mount Vernon. This year's SSWSP will be held in October at International Country Club.
- Miller held a 2-up lead on Kitusky at the turn and won the next four holes to quickly clinch the match.
- During her undefeated run since 2020, Miller has only played the 18th hole once in 14 matches -- when she defeated Cabriele in 21 holes in the 2021 semifinals.
- Jung was two down with two holes to play against Cabriele but won the final two holes with birdies to extend the match. She won with a par on No. 2, the second extra hole.
- Lane is a past stroke-play medalist in the SWA. She defeated Deborah McManus 7 and 5 on Wednesday to advance.
- Shifflett has eliminated two past champions on her road to the semifinals, beating Mimi Hoffman in the round of 16 and Shelley Savage in the quarterfinals.
- Play continued in multiple non-championship flights in both events on Wednesday. For full results, click on the live scoring link above.
Day 2
(Pictured: Mary Tryer. Credit: Abby All/VSGA)
HOT SPRINGS -- After a rainy start to the week, the weather for the second day was beautiful with lower temperatures and winds cooling things down. Despite strong winds blowing through the Old Course all day, our competitors still got a great day of play in.
Andrea Miller, number one seed for the Senior Championship, is set to go off at 11:42 pm playing against Joanne Kitusky who is number nine seed. Senior Championship player Bev Lane, number two seed, starts tomorrow at 11:56 pm against Deborah McManus. Super Senior lead, Shawn McCullough, tees off tomorrow at 8:33 am against Becki Davis for the Super Senior Championship. Close behind as second seed for the Super Seniors, Boodie McGurn takes off for the third day of play at 8:40 am against Linda DiVall.
After ending tee times around 2 pm our groups concluded play around 6 pm today to prepare for 7:30 am tee times again tomorrow morning.
View this post on Instagram
Day 1
(Pictured: Andrea Miller. Credit: Abby All/VSGA)
HOT SPRINGS -- The morning rounds took off at 7:30 am with gloomy skies looming above. After slight cloud coverage the skies turned blue and lead to a beautiful morning of play. After concluding the Super Senior Championship, play ended with defending champion Shawn McCullough earning medalist honors with a 1-over 73. Following the Super Seniors, the Senior group finished with three-time defending champion Andrea Miller posting a 4-under 68 to win medalist honors by five strokes over Bev Lane.
Play continued to be smooth and easy until rain struck in the late afternoon resulting in a delay of play with rain and lighting in the area. Right before weather hit Pam Reed, Maxine Bland, Kolette Hoyle, and Amy Phelan set out to play off for the last two remaining spots in the Senior Championship qualifying flights. After close play in the playoff Reed and Bland secured their spots for Tuesday.
After the delay and playoffs, the rest of the field went back out to conclude play for the first day while watching out for stray storms popping up in the area. Despite the weather players were in good spirits and ended the first day strong, prepared to take on the next day of play Tuesday.
Play will start at 7:30 am once again from the first tee with tee times until 2:09 pm.
Noteable:
- Andrea Miller had a birdie on holes 3, 14, and 15 and had an eagle on hole 13.
- Amy Phelan had an eagle on hole 15.
- Shawn McCullough had two birdies on holes 2 and 9.
- Boodie McGum had a birdie on hole 1.
- Bev Lane had three birdies on holes 1, 9, and 15.
View this post on Instagram