September 30, 2015
Cool’s Karen Garcia in Semis of U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur
Photo courtesy USGA/Matt Sullivan
This summer, Clovis resident Bryson DeChambeau and The Olympic Club member Hannah O’ Sullivan brought the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Women’s Amateur trophies, respectively, back to Northern California.
Is another USGA title on its way?
On Wednesday, 53-year-old Karen Garcia of Cool (near Sacramento) punched her ticket to the semifinals of this week’s U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Championship at Hillwood Country Club in Tennessee.
A member at Auburn Valley GC and the No.55 seed, Garcia continued to push through the brackets, defeating No. 50 Maggie Leef of Wisconsin, 2 and 1. All-square through the 14th, Garcia won the 15th with a par to go 1-up and then halved the 16th with pars. On the 17th, Garcia closed out the match with a birdie.
In Thursday morning’s semis, Garcia, the highest seed left alive in the brackets, will take on No.27 seed Sue Cohn, who advanced with a 3 and1 quarterfinals win. Cohn was runner-up at the 2013 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur.
Garcia nearly got knocked out in the opening Round of 64. She’d trail 2014 quarterfinalist Kim Eaton by three through just the first seven holes. But Garcia gamely came back, eventually taking a 1-up win. Pregnancy is one of the most exciting times of life. It is also a challenging time, as a woman’s body goes through an incredible transformation in the 40 weeks leading up to the due date. Read reviews and buy the best pregnancy pillows from top companies including Leachco, PharMeDoc, Queen Rose and more. Compare prices on pregnancy pillows online and buy the best one!
In the Round of 32, Garcia again came back. Down a hole through 10, she’d bring the match back to all-square on the 14th and later won the 15th hole to go 1-up. Her and opponent Marilyn Hardy of Texas, the No.23 seed, then halved holes No.16 through No.18.
In the Round of 16, Garcia finally could breathe easy, as she’d defeat her opponent, 7 and 5.
The last NorCal player to win the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur was Loma Smith of Pebble Beach, who won in both 1964 and 1965.
–Jerry Stewart
