Rising Vanderbilt senior Lynn Lim won the Sea Island Women’s Amateur on Saturday, her first individual victory since 2023.
“I proved to myself that I can compete and win,” Lim said. “I’ve been in contention before and haven’t quite closed it out. It was just really nice to be able to do that this week.”
Lim shot 4-under par 206 (66-68-72) to beat University of North Carolina’s Megan Streicher and Oklahoma State’s Grace Kilcrease by two strokes at Sea Island Golf Club in Georgia. She started the final round at 6-under, two strokes behind leader Jessica Guiser of the University of Florida.
“This week it’s evident that I thrived when chasing,” Lim said. “I think there’s just sometimes unwanted pressure and unnecessary self pressure to either maintain the lead or overthink it.”
Paired with Guiser and Kilcrease in the final group, Lim had her work cut out for her. Guiser’s bogeys on each of the first five holes dropped her back and gave Lim a slim lead. However, Lim’s bogey on No. 10 tied her with Kilcrease. Kilcrease’s bogey on 16 broke the stalemate and a second consecutive bogey on 17 ensured Lim’s 2-over final round was enough to win.
Despite a difficult final round, Guiser finished T5. Her first round 8-under 62 with nine birdies was one stroke shy of the tournament record set by Laney Frye in 2023.
The Sea Island Women’s Amateur was the first of five events in the Women’s Elite Amateur Golf Series, now in its second year. Exemptions and invitations into each of the five events hinge on winning and past success. World Amateur Golf Ranking points earned through each of the five events add up to determine a Women’s Series Cup winner.
The next event in the Women’s Elite Amateur Golf Series is the Southwestern Women’s Amateur at Desert Mountain Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, from June 11-14.
RESULTS
At Maridoe Golf Club near Dallas, Bobby Massa dominated the Huddleston Cup. The Texas native and former pro shot 11-under-par 205 (70-67-68) to win the mid-amateur division by nine strokes.
“The rough was up and the fescue was up, so if you could keep it in between the fescue, hit the middle of greens and make a few putts, then it was going to be a good week, and that’s just what I happened to do,” Massa said.
Massa was the only player of 38 in the field to shoot under par all three days. He was also one of only three players to shoot under par for the tournament along with Steele Dewald (-2) and Brandon Grzywacz (-1).
Since being reinstated as an amateur in 2019, Massa, a 37-year-old performance coach, has become a factor in the mid-amateur game. He was a U.S. Mid-Amateur quarterfinalist in 2023 before losing to Evan Beck in the final last year. He also made the quarterfinals of the 2024 U.S. Amateur.
Known as “Bobby Speed” for his swing speeds well over 120 mph, Massa teaches his clients how to hit the ball farther.
“This week I got to hit 3-iron [off the tee] a lot thanks to my length,” Massa said. “I didn’t have to hit driver on some of the tight holes, which probably played to my advantage.”
Elsewhere in the mid-amateur division, former Dallas Cowboys quarterback and CBS football analyst Tony Romo shot 18-over (83-71-80). While he finished 29th, Romo’s 1-under 71 in the second round was one of only five rounds under par that day.
In the Huddleston Cup’s senior division, Bryan Hoops continued his scorching play with his fifth win in seven starts. He shot 3-under (75-72-66) to beat the 18-player field by 11 strokes. Hoops was the only senior player to shoot under par for the tournament.
Hoops may have won by a large margin, but his win was far from guaranteed going into the final round. He finished the second round at 3-over for the tournament and one stroke better than Robert Funk. However, Hoops’ 6-under third round with no bogeys was a tournament low by a wide margin. That coupled with 14 out of the 18 players shooting over par on the final day gave Hoops the win.
This year, Hoops became the first player in history to win the Golfweek Senior Division National Championship and Golfweek Senior Amateur Championship in the same year and in back-to-back weeks. The very next week, he won the Society of Seniors Senior Masters. Hoops claimed his fourth win of the year earlier this month, winning the Trans-Mississippi Senior Championship.
Everett Munez