Women’s Amateur Preview
As with this month’s U.S Women’s Amateur, the 53rd Connecticut Women’s Amateur pits experienced mid-amateurs such as Defending Champion Autumn Serruta against a group of budding stars, some not out of their teens, or even high school. Prominent among them:
—Sarah Houle, 18, the Sandy Hook star who led Newtown High School to the South-West Conference Championship this spring, won the 2018 Connecticut Section Junior PGA Championship and last month competed in the U.S. Girls’ Junior at Poppy Hills.
—Kyra Cox, 18, headed for Furman, who finished T12 at Innis Arden in the Women’s Open and last month won the New York State Women’s Amateur by seven shots and the Northern Junior Championship at Great River Golf Club in rapid succession this summer.
—Alexandra Sazhin, 20, a rising junior at Quinnipiac and the 2017 Metro Athletic Conference Player of the Year, who also finished four back at Manchester Country Club, the site of last year’s Amateur Joining Serruta, 29, on the veteran side is 54-year-old Jennifer Holland of Lyman Orchards, 2017 CSGA Women’s Player of the Year, who finished two shots behind Serruta last year and 28-year-old Brooke Stepanek of Pine Orchard Country Club, a past William & Mary standout and former Connecticut Section Junior PGA Champion.
There are five divisions in the Amateur: Overall, Junior (17 and under), Senior (50-59) Super Senior (60 and above) and Team. The team championship goes to two players from the same club with the lowest combined score.
Junior Division
Meghan Mitchell, the New Canaan Junior who has led the Rams to two consecutive state titles; Bethany Fell, 17, of the Patterson Club, and Elizabeth Garfield,17, of Tashua Knolls Golf Club, who finished 18th in the Amateur last year.
In the Senior Division
Holland, second overall last year, won this division by eight and is continuing her strong play this year. She shot 67 last week in the CWGA/SNEWGA matches at Timberlin. Look for Debbie Johnson of Oronoque Country Club, Lisa Fern-Boros of the Highfield Club and Mercedes Large of Wampanoag Country Club, to challenge. Johnson finished sixth in last year’s Amateur, Fern-Boors was T7, and Large T15.
Super Senior Division
Last year’s top Super Seniors return: Jean Sennett of Wampanoag, low finisher last year, Lynda Foster of Madison Country Club, who finished three behind her, and Donna Harris of the Connecticut Women’s Golf Association, who took third.
Team Competition: Home Field Advantage?
At a course where local knowledge is a distinct plus, two Hartford members will try to benefit from it in the team competition. They are Ann Malone and Jill Tryon both members of the Connecticut Women’s Golf Association. Other teams to watch: Shorehaven Golf Club, represented by NoraNoel Nolan, who finished 14th last year, and Leela Narang a sports agent for tournament golfers and past champion at Longshore Golf Club. Another team of interest is Rockledge Country Club, led by Vienna Winalski, a starter at Converse College who placed fourth in the Hartford Women’s Open, Melissa Arora, a leader with the SNEWGA/LPGA Amateur Golf Association, and educator Jennifer Burrill.
*Image courtesy NCSA