DAYTON, OH (June 24, 2016) -- In the first Championship flight match this morning, Lydia Gumm, the finalist from last year’s Women's Western Amateur 115th National Amateur Championship, faced 15-year- old Mikhaela Fortuna, a resident of Dasmarinas City in the Philippines. Fortuna started out well in the match and had a 3 up lead after 13 holes. Gumm fought back to win holes 14, 15, 16, and 17 to take a 1 up lead into No. 18. Fortuna won the 18th hole and the match went to extra holes. Both hit great shots but Fortuna won the 22nd hole to take the match.
In other morning matches, Sophia Schubert, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, defeated Maddie Szeryk, London, Ontario, Canada, 1 up; Jillian Hollis, Rocky River, Ohio, defeated Grace St-Germain, Orleans, Ontario, 2 up: and Kelly Whaley, Farmington, Connecticut, def. August Kim, St. Augustine, Florida, 3&2. A highlight of this round was Kim’s hole-in-one on the 128 yard 7th hole, the sixth ace of the tournament.
The first match of the afternoon session was Sophia Schubert versus Mikhaela Fortuna. Schubert won the first hole and Fortuna won the fifth hole to even the score. The match remained all-square until the 10th hole when Schubert made a bogey and Fortuna took control from there to take the match at 3&2.
The second match of the afternoon put together Jillian Hollis and Kelly Whaley. Both of their mothers played college golf in the 1980’s. Jillian’s mother was Sharon Minnich who played at both North Carolina State University and Ohio State University and Kelly’s mother was Suzy McGuire who played at the University of North Carolina where Kelly will a sophomore this fall.
Hollis and Whaley have become great friends through Junior Golf events and are even staying together in local housing this week. They requested it and were placed with David and Joanne Cronin whose daughter Ellie also participated in the event. Talking with them before their match they seemed kind of loose about the whole thing. The mood changed once the first ball was hit. Whaley took an early lead when she eagled the 4th hole. In a tightly contested match where many holes ended up all-square, Jillian Hollis nailed her drive on the par-3 2nd to win the match on the 20th hole.
The Championship’s final match to determine the winner will be played on Saturday. The first 18-hole round will be begin at 7:30 am. There will be an approximately 45 minute break between the first and second 18 hole rounds.