Fifty-four holes was not enough to determine a winner Wednesday at the Amateur Golf Alliance Women’s Amateur Championship. Three former U.S. Mid-Amateur champions – Kelsey Chugg (2017), Lauren Greenlief (2015) and Julia Potter-Bobb (2013, 2016) – went two extra holes at The Bay Club in Mattapoisett, Massachusetts, before Chugg prevailed with a par.
The three players were in the final group together and posted under-par final rounds, tying at 1-under 212.
After making birdies on Nos. 15 and 17, Greenlief seemed to have the tournament in hand. A three-putt bogey on the par-4 18th let Chugg back in with a par, and Potter-Bobb made a birdie to join the playoff.
Potter-Bobb, of Indianapolis, Indiana, and Greenlief, of Ashburn, Virginia, missed the green on the second playoff hole and could not get up and down for par. Chugg, of Salt Lake City, Utah, two-putted for a routine par and the win.
“It was exciting,” Chugg told GGP. “It’s the first time I have played in this event. I was a little surprised, as I have not played much this year.”
Tara Joy-Connelly, who served as tournament chairperson, romped to the Senior Division title, winning by 10 shots over Ellen Port, a three-time U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur champion. Joy-Connelly, of Middleboro, Massachusetts, posted under-par scores in the first and second rounds on the way to signing for a 1-over 214 total.
“I hit it well and putted well in the first two rounds,” Joy-Connelly said. “In the final round, I just tried not to make mistakes.”
Lara Tennant, also a three-time U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur winner, finished solo third, one shot behind Port.
RESULTS
Jim Nugent