Julia Potter-Bobb knew nothing would come easy this week.
Not with a field packed with USGA champions, Curtis Cup veterans, and some of the most accomplished mid-amateur and senior women golfers in the country. But when the final putts dropped, it was Potter-Bobb standing alone at the top of the leaderboard at the AGA Women’s Amateur.
The two-time U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion posted rounds of 72, 75, and 72 to finish at 6-over 219, edging a loaded field by one shot. The victory adds another highlight to an already impressive amateur career and comes a year after she finished runner-up in the event.
The Mid-Amateur division alone featured 14 past USGA champions, including Ina Kim-Schaad, Meghan Stasi, Lauren Greenlief, Blakesly Brock, and Hanley Long. Potter-Bobb ultimately outlasted many of them, holding off Kim-Schaad and Stasi, who tied for second at 7-over 220.
Kim-Schaad, the reigning U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion, stayed in the hunt all week with rounds of 72, 75, and 73. Stasi, a four-time U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion and longtime Curtis Cup figure, matched her total after rounds of 73, 74, and 73.
Three-time tournament winner Lauren Greenlief, one of four recent AGA champions in the field, finished tied for fourth at 10-over 223.
The senior division was equally impressive, featuring names synonymous with elite amateur golf: Dawn Woodard, Sarah Ingram, Lara Tennant, Ellen Port, Virginia Grimes, Brenda Kuehn, Kathy Hartwiger, Judith Kyrinis, Martha Leach, and others who have collectively won national championships, represented the United States in Curtis Cups, and shaped the women’s amateur game for decades.
Woodard, the reigning U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur champion, successfully defended her senior title with rounds of 69, 73, and 73 to finish at 2-over 215, six shots clear of Tara Joy-Connelly. Three-time U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur champion Lara Tennant finished third.
What separated Potter-Bobb was consistency. In a championship where mistakes were costly and experience mattered, she stayed patient, avoided the big number, and handled the pressure of a world-class field from start to finish.