Team Canada's Katie Cranston triumphs in Women's Porter Cup
Katie Cranston (credit: Porter Cup)
The women's Porter Cup was not short on drama at Niagara Country Club.
Katie Cranston and
Brooke Rivers combined to make 6 pars on the back nine. Rivers held a two shot advantage with two holes remaining, but Cranston managed to force the playoff with birdies on the 17th and 18th holes. It proved to be pivotal, as she parred the fourth playoff hole for the victory.
Cranston understood it was going to be a tough day, with a deep field of competitors in the hunt.
"I just wanted another solid round and to finish strong. I knew that it was anyone's game, there were probably about 8 girls who could have got it done today, so I just focused on myself, Cranston said. "I knew I would have to stay patient and not get ahead of myself."
The day started with Rivers leading Cranston by one shot and they both played some incredible golf on the front nine. Cranston birdied the first three holes and Rivers fired back with an eagle on the par 5 third hole. Rivers tallied birdies on 8 and 12 to reach five-under par for her round and nine-under for the tournament.
Cranston birdied the 10th and 11th holes to keep pace with the scorching hot Rivers. However the last seven holes proved that golf under pressure can indeed become very difficult. Cranston made double bogeys on the 13th and 16th holes, but Rivers made a costly triple bogey on the 14th hole and then a double bogey on the 16th hole, too.
"I really just tried to finish strong for myself, I thought even if I don’t win I still want to have a strong showing and secure runner up," Cranston said. "In the back of my mind I knew that anything was still possible because that’s just how golf is sometimes. I just tried to stay calm and take it one shot at a time."
Standing on the par 5 17th tee with both players coming off a tough stretch of golf, Rivers held a two shot lead. After both players made birdies on 17, the par 3 18th was waiting. A par would have secured the victory for Rivers.
Cranston stuffed her tee shot to five feet and tallied one more birdie on her day to force a playoff after Rivers made a bogey.
It took four playoff holes to finally decide the winner. After pars were so hard to come by on the back nine, it was the score that Cranston needed to win the 2022 Women's Porter Cup.
ABOUT THE Women's Porter Cup
The Porter Cup, one of the premiere amateur
events in the nation, now has a "sister" event -
The Women's Porter Cup. Starting in 2023, the men's
and women's Porter Cup
championships will run con currently with 54 players in
each field and alternating tee times.
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