Two-Time Champion Potter-Bobb Medalist for Third Time

When: Sept. 15, 2019 
What: 33rd U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship 
Where: Forest Highlands Golf Club – Flagstaff, Ariz. 
Course Architect: Tom Weiskopf (Meadow Course) 
Par and Yardage: Par 72 – 6,202 yards 
WHAT HAPPENED:
 Julia Potter-Bobb, of Indianapolis, Ind., followed Saturday’s record-tying round of 68 with a 2-under-par 70 on Sunday to post a two-round total of 6-under 138 and earn medalist honors by four strokes in the 33rd U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship on the Meadow Course at Forest Highlands Golf Club in Flagstaff, Ariz. 

Potter-Bobb, 31, who was medalist or co-medalist twice before and won the championship both times (2013 and 2016), was one of six players to finish 36 holes at 1-under 143 or better. She was joined by 2018 semifinalist Michelle Butler, of Columbia, Mo., and Heather Wall, of Lakeland, Fla., both at 2-under 142 and three players – including defending champion Shannon Johnson, of Easton, Mass. – at 1-under 143. 

“I’ve been in these events for so long that anything can happen,” said Potter-Bobb, a left-hander who played on Saturday and Sunday with Johnson and 2017 champion Kelsey Chugg, of Salt Lake City, Utah. “The thing I can say about this round is that I definitely left some out there. I’m sure Shannon and Kelsey would say the same thing. If we all peak at the same time along with other competitors out there, it will be one heck of a tournament.” 

Caryn Wilson, 58, of Rancho Mirage, Calif., who joined Potter-Bobb on Saturday in becoming the third and fourth players to shoot a 68 in stroke play in U.S. Women’s Mid-Am history, bogeyed her last two holes on Sunday in a 3-over 75 to join Johnson and Megan Buck, of Easton, Mass., at 1-under 143. Mallory Hetzel, 32, of Virginia Beach, Va., the women’s golf coach at Old Dominion University, was one of three players at even-par 144, while Chugg and 2009 champion Martha Leach were among a group of five players at 1-over 145. 

Lauren Greenlief, 29, of Ashburn, Va., the 2015 champion, shot 2-over 146 in stroke play and earned the No. 17 seed, while four-time champion Meghan Stasi, 41, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., shot 5-over 149 and is the No. 34 seed. Seven-time USGA champion Ellen Port, 57, of St. Louis, Mo., finished at 6-over 150 and is the No. 38 seed. 

NOTABLE: 

Megan Buck, 31, is no stranger to Forest Highlands, having played the course about 10 times while she competed on the women’s golf team at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. Buck caddied for Shannon Johnson at this championship in 2016 and 2017 before qualifying for the first time last year at Norwood Hills Country Club in St. Louis, Mo. “When I came back this week and stood on the tees, a lot of it came back to me,” said Buck of the Meadow Course, where she shot 71-72 on the weekend. “Funny thing, the fairways seemed a little wider than they did back in the college days. There’s definitely a comfort level – I have my parents here, along with a bunch of our friends from Phoenix who came up to watch.” Buck, who lost to Lea Venable in the Round of 64 last year, earned the No. 5 seed and plays Nora Klein on Monday. “I learned a lot last year. I went into my first match feeling like I had to hit every shot perfect, and you don’t have to, of course. I just need to play my game and stay patient and it’ll all work out.”
Three players who played at Stanford University together advanced into the match-play bracket. Lila (Barton) Thomas, 29, of Dallas, of the class of 2012, earned the No. 13 in seed in match play with a 1-over total of 145. Sydney Ramskill, 29, of Salinas, Calif., also of the class of 2012, earned the No. 27 seed. Marissa Mar, 27, of San Francisco, of the class of 2014, was a semifinalist in 2017 at Champions Golf Club and earned the No. 45 seed.

Seven players from outside the United States advanced to match play, four of them from Canada. The highest seed among the seven is Ket Preamchuen Vanderpool, of Thailand, who earned the No. 24 seed and will play Tina Papatolis, of Canada. Christina Proteau, of Canada, a semifinalist in this championship in 2015 and a quarterfinalist two other times, earned the No. 31 seed and will play four-time champion Meghan Stasi on Monday. Sue Wooster, of Australia, a two-time runner-up in the U.S. Senior Women’s Mid-Amateur, earned the No. 42 seed. 

QUOTABLE: 

“I just hit all my bad shots on the same hole, No. 3, and made a double bogey. I went from bunker to bunker to bunker and afterward, I told my Mom I just wanted to put her to work on some raking jobs.” – Megan Buck, whose mother, Liz, caddied for her

“Patience is key here. Keep making good strokes and good shots, especially with this wind. Today was tough. I really like match play and this is the highest seed I’ve had, so I’m excited going into tomorrow.” – Heather Wall, of Lakeland, Fla., who earned the No. 2 seed at 2-under 142

“Where I made bogeys, I didn’t specifically commit to the line off the tee and was being a little complacent. It will be a fun match-play course. There’s lots of risk and reward. You can take some different angles if you want. The greens are rolling awesome, so there’s tons of birdies to be made.” – defending champion Shannon Johnson 

WHATS NEXT: 

Six players finished stroke play at 12-over 156, and they will play off at 7:30 a.m. local time for the final spot in the match-play bracket. Whoever emerges from that playoff will be the No. 64 seed and face Potter-Bobb. The Round of 64 will begin at 8:30 a.m., and the Round of 32 and Round of 16 will both be contested on Tuesday. 

Flagstaff, Ariz. – Results from Sunday’s Round 2 stroke-play at the 33rd U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship, played at the 6,202-yard par-72 Meadow Course at Forest Highlands Golf Club.
Julia Potter-Bobb, Indianapolis, Ind. – 68-70–138
Heather Wall, Lakeland, Fla. – 71-71–142
Michelle Butler, Columbia, Mo. – 71-71–142
Caryn Wilson, Rancho Mirage, Calif. – 68-75–143
Megan Buck, Easton, Mass. – 71-72–143
Shannon Johnson, Easton, Mass. – 74-69–143
Mallory Hetzel, Virginia Beach, Va. – 74-70–144
Sarah Gallagher, Canton, Ga. – 70-74–144
Kelli Pry, Coatesville, Pa. – 72-72–144
Ashleigh Albrecht-Hatton, Murrieta, Calif. – 73-72–145
Ina Kim-Schaad, New York, N.Y. – 73-72–145
Martha Leach, Hebron, Ky. – 72-73–145
Lila Thomas, Dallas, Texas – 72-73–145
Kelsey Chugg, Salt Lake City, Utah – 71-74–145
Allison Schultz, Madison, Wis. – 73-73–146
Courtney McKim, Raleigh, N.C. – 69-77–146
Lauren Greenlief, Ashburn, Va. – 71-75–146
Clare Connolly, Chevy Chase, Md. – 74-72–146
Katie Elliott-Johnson, Fitchburg, Wis. – 76-71–147
Talia Campbell, New York, N.Y. – 74-73–147
Erin Houtsma, Denver, Colo. – 74-73–147
Katrina Camitoc, San Francisco, Calif. – 74-73–147
Alexandra Schilling, Rochester, Minn. – 73-74–147
Ket Preamchuen Vanderpool, Thailand – 73-75–148
Taylor Kay, Long Beach, Calif. – 74-74–148
Amanda Jacobs, Portland, Ore. – 75-73–148
Sydney Ramskill, Salinas, Calif. – 73-75–148
Paige McCullough, Stillwater, Minn. – 74-75–149
Melissa Loh, Singapore – 75-74–149
Catherine Elliott-Powell, Philadelphia, Pa. – 73-76–149
Christina Proteau, Canada – 79-70–149
Marilyn Hardy, Magnolia, Texas – 75-74–149
Michelle Jarman, Wilmington, N.C. – 71-78–149
Meghan Stasi, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. – 74-75–149
Cali Hipp, Caldwell, Idaho – 78-72–150
Linda Jeffery, Abilene, Texas – 78-72–150
Kim Eaton, Mesa, Ariz. – 72-78–150
Ellen Port, St. Louis, Mo. – 71-79–150
Katie Miller, Jeannette, Pa. – 79-72–151
Heather McGinnis, Honolulu, Hawaii – 76-75–151
Tina Papatolis, Canada – 76-75–151
Sue Wooster, Australia – 73-78–151
Olivia Herrick, Roseville, Minn. – 73-79–152
Lea Venable, Simpsonville, S.C. – 80-72–152
Marissa Mar, Palo Alto, Calif. – 78-74–152
Emily Rapp, Greenville, S.C. – 74-78–152
Gina Bamberger, Murrieta, Calif. – 75-77–152
Ashley Freeman, Houston, Texas – 79-74–153
Susan Roh, Denver, Colo. – 79-74–153
Dawn Woodard, Greenville, S.C. – 75-79–154
Cindy Scholefield-McConnell, Bishop, Calif. – 75-79–154
Kay Daniel, Covington, La. – 78-76–154
Flower Castillo, San Antonio, Texas – 77-77–154
Jessica Smith, Grand Junction, Colo. – 76-78–154
Pamela Kuong, Wellesley Hills, Mass. – 75-80–155
Mari Miezwa, Brooklyn Park, Minn. – 83-72–155
Andrea Kosa, Canada – 77-78–155
Julia Hodgson, Canada – 77-78–155
Noelle Maertz, Clark, N.J. – 73-82–155
Nora Klein, Chicago, Ill. – 77-78–155
Gretchen Johnson, Portland, Ore. – 80-75–155
Erin Packer, Peachtree City, Ga. – 82-73–155
Susan Curtin, Westwood, Mass. – 81-74—155 

(Involved in 6-for-1 playoff to determine final match-play bracket spots, begins at 7:30 a.m. MST on Monday)

Holly Bare, Clovis, Calif. – 79-77–156
Kelsey Solan, Lumberton, N.J. – 83-73–156
Mariah Hopkins, Danville, Va. – 77-79–156
Maki Schultz, San Dimas, Calif. – 76-80–156
Whitney French, Monarch Beach, Calif. – 79-77–156
Martha Linscott, Mission Hills, Kan. – 82-74—156 

(Failed to Qualify)  

Danielle Amiee, Newport Beach, Calif. – 78-79–157
Susan West, Tuscaloosa, Ala. – 78-79–157
Erin Bradford, Georgetown, Ky. – 82-75–157
Annie Dulman, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. – 77-80–157
Marcela Coghlan, Mexico – 79-78–157
Ericka Diaz, Mexico – 82-75–157
Maggie Leef, Pewaukee, Wis. – 77-80–157
Thuhashini Selvaratnam, Cave Creek, Ariz. – 82-76–158
Mary Jane Hiestand, Naples, Fla. – 76-82–158
Kayla Eckelkamp, Washington, Mo. – 75-83–158
Megan Place McAfee, Boston, Mass. – 76-83–159
Daniela Okino, Elk Grove, Calif. – 80-79–159
Mary Mulcahy, Scituate, Mass. – 77-82–159
Tara Joy-Connelly, Vero Beach, Fla. – 80-79–159
Courtney Stiles, Pinehurst, N.C. – 85-74–159
Caitlin Farley, San Diego, Calif. – 79-81–160
Shawna Alexander, The Woodlands, Texas – 82-78–160
Amy Kennedy, York, Pa. – 80-80–160
Allison Trevino, San Antonio, Texas – 80-80–160
Brenda Pictor, Marietta, Ga. – 83-77–160
Lynne Cowan, Rocklin, Calif. – 82-78–160
Karen Siegel, Maple Glen, Pa. – 80-81–161
Carmen Titus, Greenwood, Mo. – 79-82–161
Jessica Lederhausen, Sweden – 83-78–161
Hilary Hall, Republic of Ireland – 78-83–161
Lauren Gebauer, Oakland, Calif. – 82-79–161
Katie Kirk, Winterville, N.C. – 81-81–162
Corey Weworski, Carlsbad, Calif. – 83-79–162
Cathleen Wong, Singapore – 80-82–162
Claudia Ramirez, San Antonio, Texas – 81-81–162
Anna Schultz, Heath, Texas – 85-77–162
Camry Tardy, Arlington, Texas – 83-79–162
Kristyl Sunderman, McDonough, Ga. – 77-86–163
Kim Izzi, Newport Beach, Calif. – 81-82–163
Nachcha Perkins, Thailand – 83-80–163
Katie Rose Higgins, Charlotte, N.C. – 75-88–163
Cindy Troyanovich, Grosse Pointe Shores, Mich. – 80-84–164
Kristine Rohrbaugh, Richmond, Va. – 81-83–164
Janet Moore, Centennial, Colo. – 84-81–165
Brooke Kochevar, Glen Ellyn, Ill. – 85-81–166
Courtney Shelton, Franklin, Tenn. – 89-78–167
Carson Laderoute, Burlington, Vt. – 84-83–167
Katerina Prorokova, Czech Republic – 86-81–167
Kim Benedict, Bonita Springs, Fla. – 83-85–168
Joanne Adams, Detroit, Mich. – 86-82–168
Allison Besant, Broomfield, Colo. – 89-80–169
Erin Varner, Chicago, Ill. – 85-84–169
Kristin Shifflett, Fredericksburg, Va. – 87-82–169
Vanessa Honnes, Testin, Calif. – 86-83–169
Patricia Lincoln, Parkville, Mo. – 85-85–170
Denise Callahan, Canton, Ohio – 85-85–170
Heidi Person, Pauma Valley, Calif. – 81-89–170
Shannon Kennedy, Portland, Ore. – 83-87–170
Meghan Moake, Houston, Texas – 87-84–171
Hillary Lilya, Boise, Idaho – 86-86–172
Kathy Davies, Wheaton, Ill. – 86-87–173
Danielle Davis, St. Simons, Ga. – 92-84–176
Deb Jackson, Johns Creek, Ga. – 88-91–179
Jewell Malick, Heath, Texas – 94-88–182
Sue Sardi, Skillman, N.J. – 94-99–193