September 24, 2015
U.S. Senior and Senior Women’s Ams Begin This Weekend: Can the NCGA Sweep Again?
Over the summer, Clovis resident Bryson DeChambeau and The Olympic Club member Hannah O’Sullivan gave the NCGA a sweep of both the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Women’s Amateur Championships.
Now, it’s the seniors turn.
Starting on Saturday, the U.S. Senior Amateur Championship begins at Hidden Creek GC in New Jersey. The U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, meanwhile also tees off Saturday at Hillwood Country Club in Tennessee.
As for the chances of more USGA hardware coming to Northern California, they’re again pretty darn good.
Once again, the NCGA will be represented by some of the best amateurs in the region.
SENIOR WOMEN
- Lynne Cowan—The Rocklin resident has competed in 22 USGA championships and is a four-time winner of the California Women’s Amateur Championship (1999, 2000, 2005, 2007).
- Karen Garcia—Garcia was a representative of the North Team in the Women’s Golf Association of Northern California 2014 North/South Team Matches.
- Sandy Woodruff—The Santa Cruz resident, who owns and operates Valley Gardens GC, is a three-time winner of the California Senior Women’s Amateur Championship (2001, 2003, 2012).
- Stacey Camara—The Windsor resident was a representative of the North Team in the Women’s Golf Association of Northern California 2014 North/South Team Matches.
- Marianne Towersey—The Pebble Beach resident is a record seven-time winner of the California Senior Women’s Amateur Championship. Between 2004-2009, she won a record six titles in a row.
SENIOR MEN
- Randy Haag—The Olympic Club member, of Orinda, is a record six-time Northern California Golf Association Player of the Year (1992, 1994, 1999, 2009, 2010 and 2011). Back in June, he competed in the U.S. Senior Open at Del Paso CC.
- Mark Morgan—In September, Morgan won the annual California State Senior Fair Championship.
- Michael Staskus—In 2014, Staskus won the NCGA Senior Four-Ball title playing with Frank Pieper. He once missed a putt in Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy’s chambers at the United States Supreme Court.
- Joe Zanassi—The Fairfield resident qualified for the championship by firing a 3-over-par 74 at Los Altos Golf & Country Club.
Play in both championships will consist of stroke play qualifying on Saturday and Sunday. The championships then move to match play, culminating with Thursday’s finals.
-Jerry Stewart