Gabriel, Gailey and Tennant win Oregon Amateur titles

Tye Gabriel and Victoria Gailey won titles at the 113th Oregon Amateur Championship, and Lara Tennant won her sixth straight crown at the 39th Oregon Senior Women’s Amateur Championship played June 20-25 at Willamette Valley Country Club in Canby.

It is the first Oregon Am title for both Gabriel and Gailey.

Gabriel posted a 2&1 victory over Mateo Fuenmayor, who finished second in this competition a year ago. Gailey won 5&4 over Mary Scott Wolfe, who also finished as runner-up in this event for the second consecutive year.

Tennant, from Portland, beat Marcia Fisher 4&3 for her sixth career senior women’s amateur title. She is now tied with Joan Edwards-Powell for the most career wins in this event. Tennant’s stands alone in the record books having won six consecutive titles.

Saturday’s men’s and women’s final matches were 36-hole competitions.

Victoria Gailey

The first nine in the morning session saw Fuenmayor jump out to the early lead with wins on Nos. 2, 5 and 7 – recording birdie on each. Gabriel countered by winning Nos. 8 and 9 to narrow the deficit as they made the turn.

The morning’s second nine saw the finalists halve five holes. Fuenmayor, from Beaverton, birdied No. 12 to go 2 up in the match. Gabriel birdied No. 17 to cut the lead, but Fuenmayor responded with birdie on No. 18 to take a 2 up lead through the first stanza.

Over the first 18 holes Fuenmayor had two bogeys – one on No. 8 and another on No. 17 – both leading to wins by Gabriel, who was bogey-free in the morning session.

Gabriel, from Portland, came out firing in the afternoon session and won the first two holes (Nos. 19 and 20) to even the match. Fuenmayor retook the lead after winning No. 22, but stumbled with bogeys on Nos. 26 and 27 to see Gabriel take his first lead – a 1up advantage through 27 holes.

Fuenmayor tied the match with a win on hole No. 29, but Gabriel bounced back to win the next two holes and regain the 2-up advantage. Fuenmayor birdied hole No. 33 to stay in it, but Gabriel eventually ended the match on hole No. 35.

On the women’s side, Gailey never trailed in the match – she got out to an early lead and never look back.

Gailey won holes Nos. 3 and 5 – posting a birdie on both. She made the turn 2 up and added to her lead after Wolfe faltered with a bogey on No. 11. Wolfe, from Beaverton, bounced back by birdieing No. 12 to record her lone win in the morning session.

Lara Tennant

The players halved 14 of the first 18 holes, including the final six holes in the session, as Gailey finished that stanza 2 up.

Wolfe bogeyed Nos. 21 and 24, and Gailey seized on it by winning both holes and extending her lead to 3 up. Gailey moved the advantage to 5 up after taking holes Nos. 29 and 30. She would eventually end the match on hole No. 32.

Fisher and Tennant were all square through the opening four holes in the senior women’s 18-hole title match. The five-time defending champion Tennant posted wins on Holes Nos. 5-7 to quickly go 3 up in the match.

Fisher, from Molalla, took advantage of a rare bogey by Tennant to win hole No. 8 and make the turn down two. Tennant quickly regained the momentum of the match and extended the lead to 4 up after wins on Nos. 10 and 11.

Fisher came right back and birdied No. 12, but it wasn’t enough to topple Tennant who ended the contest up four holes with three to play.

The OGA Championships will take a two-week break before resuming action July 9-10 with the 29th Oregon Public Links at McNary Golf Club in Salem.