For Ellen Oswald, the 2012 New York State Women’s Amateur Championship was a tournament like any other, three days to play golf and have fun. Little did she know that at the end of the week she would walk away with a new title and the prestigious Oak Hill Country Club Championship Trophy.
Oswald, playing out of Westchester CC, is a recent graduate of St. Johns University. While at St. John’s, she split her time between obtaining a degree in finance and playing on the women’s golf team. “I have spent a lot of time working the past four years on school and golf,” she says. “It is nice to take a breather in a way and focus on my golf game.”
And focus she did, shooting a final round 72 en route to an impressive 54-hole total of 219. She easily won the tournament, finishing 5 strokes better than Brook-lea CC’s Sara Eichelberger.
When asked about her win, Oswald says, “I feel pretty good. It’s my first win in a long time but I’ve never won an amateur title.”
Almost as impressive as her winning the title is that as a newcomer to the tournament, Oswald played with the confidence and skill of a seasoned veteran. Arguably her best round was her final round 72, in which she hit 16 out of 18 greens in regulation to finish with 16 pars, a bogey and a birdie.
Oswald credits this confidence to her ability to stay focused. “I was taking one shot at a time,” she says. “I didn’t worry about the total score. I tried to play my own game. I had a lot of support from my brother and really everyone around the course which helped too.”
Besides confidence, refined skill played a significant role in her win today, to which Oswald credits her solid iron shots and reliable putting. “Anything I hit within 100 to 120 yards was always near the pin or in the middle of the green,” she says. “And, I had a lot of two putts, definitely can’t forget about those.”
Oswald’s confidence and skill will undoubtedly carry her through the remainder of the tournament season. Be sure to look for her name on the leaderboard next week at the Women’s Metropolitan Golf Association’s Stroke Play Championship or at the WMGA Open in August.
Before today, Ellen Oswald was not a name recognizable with the NYS Women’s Amateur Championship. However this afternoon she paved her way to eventually become a household name.
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ABOUT THE New York Women's Amateur
36-hole stroke play championship. Entries will be
limited to all female amateur
golfers
who enjoy membership privileges at Clubs
belonging to the New York State Golf
Association,
or are NYSGA Associate Members. Regular and
Mid-Am divisions.
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