Leach goes back-to-back at the Senior Women’s North & South

If Martha Leach (Hebron, Ky.) is playing in the North & South Senior Women’s Amateur, odds are, she’s winning it. That’s at least what the sample size says. Leach, playing in her second North & South Senior after winning last year’s event, was able to repeat as champion at the 68th Women’s North & South Senior with a final score of seven-over-par, two strokes clear of Kathy Hartwiger, who finished in second place.

Fueled by a 4-under-par 68 on Pinehurst No. 8 during Monday’s first round, Leach was the only woman in the 45-golfer field to post any round in the 60s for the entire championship. Sitting at an even par score of 144 after a second round 76 on Pinehurst No. 2, Leach began the final round five strokes ahead of Hartwiger (74-75—149).

Martha Leach/ Photo credit: Tracy Wilcox/Golfweek

It wasn’t an easy day for the eventual champion, as Leach’s final round scorecard included five bogeys and a double bogey, with no birdies, en route to a 79 (+7) in the final round. Fortunately for her, it was almost as difficult of a round for Hartwiger, who also had five bogeys during the final round, but finished with a birdie on the last to finish with a final round 76 (+4). While she was able to tighten the margin by three strokes, it wasn’t enough to catch Leach.

Wednesday’s lone round under par in the Championship was carded by Corey Weworski (Carlsbad, Calif.), whose final round 71 (-1) propelled her from 10th place at the start of the day to third place (-11) at tournament end. Rounding out the top 5 were 2020 Carolinas Senior Women’s Player of the Year Jayne Pardus (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) in fourth place at +12, and Therese Quinn (Jacksonville, Fla.) in fifth place at +13.

In the Women’s Super-Senior Division, it came down to extra holes to decide the winner between Pat Brogden (Garner, N.C.) and Mina Hardin (Ft. Worth, Tex.) who both finished with three-round total scores of 225 (+9). After playing the 17th and 18th holes on Pinehurst No. 5 all square as the first two playoff holes, the women started the two-hole loop again, with Brogden claiming the title on the third playoff hole with a 12-foot birdie putt. It was Brogden’s first North & South Amateur championship.