CGA photo
STANLEY, N.C. (July 17, 2008)--The two senior women left in the field prevailed and advanced on into the final round of the 11th Carolinas Women's Match Play Championship on Thursday. But in the end, defending champ Patty Moore held off Maggie Weder for a 2-up victory.
Moore again started out strong against Weder, a former U.S. Marine who battles muscular sclerosis, sticking her opening approach shot to four feet and drained her birdie putt with confidence.
The two also went head to head throughout the afternoon and traded the lead until Weder made double after hitting her drive into the hazard on the ninth hole. Giving Moore a 2-up lead heading into the back nine.
The defending champ would then go 3-up after 11 holes and Weder had to dig deep inside herself to fight back.
"I really wanted this win for myself today," said Weder.
Moore would make a double on the par-4 13th hole after a three putt to drop her lead to 2-up heading into fourteen.
"Every time Maggie would stand over a putt I would be swallowing hard," Moore said.
Both players would halve fourteen and fifteen, then Weder hit a great drive on the 16th hole to allow her to reach the 378 yard par 4 in regulation while Moore's approach found the greenside bunker and she failed to get up and down.
After Moore missed her chance to close out Weder on the 17th hole, she teed up at the par-5 18th for the first time all week.
Moore's wedge shot would come within four feet of the flagstick and she made her birdie putt for the 2 up victory.
"What a great match this was," said Moore. "It was a lot of fun and I am proud to have defended my title."
Moore, a native of Charlotte, NC, faced off against 17-year-old Laura Wearn also of Charlotte, NC, in her first match of the day.
Moore came out strong winning the first two holes but Wearn fought back and found herself even after a few more holes of play. But Moore's steady play and Wearn's shaky putter helped Moore win by a 4 & 2 margin and earn another trip into the finals.
50-year-old Weder of Greenville, NC faced a tougher opponent in Brittany Beltran of Kannapolis, NC. Their match was back and forth all day with the two trading pars and birdies throughout the morning.
"The match came down to the last putt on the last hole," said Weder. "Brittany really wore me out mentally."
In the tournament division, Lu Hauser of Conover, NC won over Gwen Gore of Denver, NC by a 7 & 6 margin. The tournament division plays a shorter course.
--Courtesy CGA
View results for Carolinas Women's Match Play
ABOUT THE Carolinas Women's Match Play
The Carolinas Women's Amateur Match Play
Championship began in 1997 and annually
crowns the women's amateur match play champion
in the Carolinas. The championship is
conducted at 18 holes of stroke play qualifying to
determine seeding and flights for the
Championship division and seeding for match play in
the Carolinas division (shorter
course). The Championship flight in the
Championship division competes for the
championship and is determined by the top-15
scores in stroke play qualifying. The
Defending Champion is the automatic number one
seed. Players who do not qualify for
the Championship flight in the Championship division
will be placed in flights and seeded
based on qualifying score. The Carolinas division will
play a shorter course and will be pre-
flighted based on Handicap Index. Players will be
seeded within their Carolinas flight
based on qualifying score.
Entry is open to any female amateur golfer who has
reached her 13th birthday, is a legal
resident of North Carolina or South Carolina, is a
member in good standing of a club
which is a member of the Carolinas Golf Association
and has an active GHIN® USGA
Handicap Index®.
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