Greenlief becomes youngest ever to hold US Women’s Mid-Am title

Choudrant, La.(Oct. 8, 2015) -- Lauren Greenlief, just barely old enough to qualify as a mid-am, took on the defending champ who was playing her third straight US Women’s Mid-Am final, Margaret Shirley. Greenlief showed no fear against the veteran and made her move early to take a lead and keep it on her way to winning the US Women’s Mid-Am title at Squire Creek Country Club, Choudrant, La. Greenlief, from Oakton, Virginia, took the lead on no. 2, a 528-yard par-5. Shirley bogeyed while Greenlief made her birdie putt to take a 1-up lead. She went on to birdie nos. 5 and 6 to go 3-up before bogeys on nos. 8 and 12 brought the match closer to 1-up. Both golfers made par on the next four holes, but on the par-5 17th hole Greenlief won the hole with another birdie to go 2-up and win the match. After setting the record for largest margin of victory in a semifinal yesterday with her 8 & 6 win over Whitney Britton, she now holds another record as youngest champ (25 years, 25 days). Margaret Shirley, of Roswell, Georgia, had her own record for the week. She became the eighth female and 12th player overall to reach at least three consecutive match-play finals in the same USGA event. Other women to accomplish this include Beatrix Hoyt (U.S. Women’s Amateur, 1896-1898); Alexa Stirling (U.S. Women’s Amateur, 1916 and 1919-21 as there was no championship for two years due to World War I); Glenna Collett Vare (U.S. Women’s Amateur, 1928-1932); Virginia Van Wie (U.S. Women’s Amateur, 1932-1934), Hollis Stacy (U.S. Girls’ Junior, 1969-1971); Juli Inkster (U.S. Women’s Amateur, 1980-1982); and Carol Semple Thompson (U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, 1999-2002). More to come from the USGA