Mikhaela Fortuna to face Jillian Hollis in Women's Western Amateur final
Mikhaela Fortuna
(U.S. Kids Golf Photo)
Editors Note: Story by Judy Anderson of
WWGA
DAYTON, OH (June 24, 2016) -- In the first
Championship flight match this morning, Lydia Gumm,
the finalist from last year’s Women's Western Amateur
115th National Amateur Championship, faced 15-year-
old Mikhaela Fortuna, a resident of Dasmarinas City in
the Philippines. Fortuna started out well in the match
and had a 3 up lead after 13 holes. Gumm fought back
to win holes 14, 15, 16, and 17 to take a 1 up lead into
No. 18. Fortuna won the 18th hole and the match went
to extra holes. Both hit great shots but Fortuna won
the
22nd hole to take the match.
In other morning matches, Sophia Schubert, Oak
Ridge, Tennessee, defeated Maddie Szeryk, London,
Ontario, Canada, 1 up; Jillian Hollis, Rocky River, Ohio,
defeated Grace St-Germain, Orleans, Ontario, 2 up:
and
Kelly Whaley, Farmington, Connecticut, def. August
Kim, St. Augustine, Florida, 3&2. A highlight of this
round was Kim’s hole-in-one on the 128 yard 7th hole,
the sixth ace of the tournament.
The first match of the afternoon session was
Sophia
Schubert versus Mikhaela Fortuna. Schubert won the
first hole and Fortuna won the fifth hole to even the
score. The match remained all-square until the 10th
hole when Schubert made a bogey and Fortuna took
control from there to take the match at 3&2.
The second match of the afternoon put together
Jillian Hollis and Kelly Whaley. Both of their mothers
played college golf in the 1980’s. Jillian’s mother was
Sharon Minnich who played at both North Carolina
State
University and Ohio State University and Kelly’s mother
was Suzy McGuire who played at the University of
North
Carolina where Kelly will a sophomore this fall.
Hollis and Whaley have become great friends
through Junior Golf events and are even staying
together in local housing this week. They requested it
and were placed with David and Joanne Cronin whose
daughter Ellie also participated in the event. Talking
with them before their match they seemed kind of
loose
about the whole thing. The mood changed once the
first
ball was hit. Whaley took an early lead when she
eagled
the 4th hole. In a tightly contested match where many
holes ended up all-square, Jillian Hollis nailed her drive
on the par-3 2nd to win the match on the 20th hole.
The Championship’s final match to determine the
winner will be played on Saturday. The first 18-hole
round will be begin at 7:30 am. There will be an
approximately 45 minute break between the first and
second 18 hole rounds.
ABOUT THE Women's Western Amateur
The The Western Golf Association (WGA) has
partnered with the Women’s Western Golf
Association to administer the
Women’s Western Amateur. Held without interruption
since 1901, this event is one of the
oldest annual championships in women’s amateur
golf. The list of past champions includes
current stars and legends of the LPGA TOUR,
including Ariya Jutanugarn (2012), Stacy Lewis
(2006), Brittany Lang (2003), Grace Park (1998),
Cristie Kerr (1995) and Nancy Lopez (1976).
The Women's Western Amateur is open to amateur
women who have an up-to-date 18-hole
handicap index
that does not exceed 5.4 under the World Handicap
System. The WWGA Committee limits the
field to a
maximum of 120 contestants.
The championship begins with 36 holes of stroke-
play qualifying, after which the field is cut to
the low 32
players for match play. In the event of a tie for the
32nd position, a sudden-elimination playoff
will determine
the final match play qualifiers. Five rounds of 18-hole
matches will decide the Women's
Western Amateur
champion.
View Complete Tournament Information