DAYTON, Ohio (June 19, 2013) -- Brooke Henderson Is Medalist at the WWGA AmateurThe second round of qualifying for the WWGA’s 113th National Amateur Championship was played today at Dayton Country Club in Dayton. Ohio. Aftercompletion the player with the lowest combined score of 138 wasBrooke Mackenzie Henderson, Smith Falls, Ontario, Canada. Henderson will be 16 years old in Septemberand has qualified to play in next week’s USGA Women’s Open at Seabonack Golf Club in Southhampton, New York. She started golf at the age of 5 because her older sister Brittany played. Brittany recently graduated from Coastal Carolina University where she played on the golf team. Because both Brittany and Brooke played golf in Canada, Brooke used her middle name to differentiate herself from her older sister.Placing second lowest qualifier at 139 was Dana Finkelstein, Chandler, Arizona. Finkelstein is a Junior at the University of Nevada (Las Vegas) where she was theMountain West Conference Player of the Year for 2013. Isabel Southard, Sharon,Massachusetts, placed third with a score of 140.
The day’s low round of 67 was shared by Hally Leadbetter and ReginaPlascencia. Hally, a Junior at the University of Arkansas, is the daughter of David Leadbetter, a renowned teaching golf professional at the IMG Academies in Bradenton. Hally had no interest in golf as a child and was not pushed into playing by her parents. Around age 12 it dawned on her that she would need to get a lot better if she were to get a college scholarship for golfso she decided to start working harder on her game. When she was younger, she took lessons from another golf professional but as she got older, and better, she started taking the advice from her father. Obvious she has learned a lot about the game to shoot a score of 67 on a 5,948 yard layout Par 71 with a Rating of 74.8 and a Slope of 135.Plascencia is from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico and just finished her Freshmanyear at the University of Arkansas where she played on the team that finished tied for13th place at the NCAA Women’s Championship at the University of Georgia GolfCourse in May. She represented Mexico at the 2012 World Amateur Championshipin Antalya, Turkey and participated in the 2011 LPGA Lorena Ochoa Invitational.In at 68 was Gabriella Then of Cucamonga, California. Then played on the 2011Junior Solheim Cup team and won the 2011 Rolex Tournament of Champions. She has also qualified for next week’s USGA Women’s Open at Seabonack Golf Club. In the fall Then will enter the University of Southern California, this year’s NCAA Women’sChampions.
Ohio residents in the Championship Flight include Jessica Porvasnik, Hinckley,146; Lexie Long, Dublin, 147; Morgan Ransom, Blacklick, 147; Kate Hoops, Lima, 151; and Natalie Goodson, Hudson, 152. New Zealand native Zoe Beth Brake who plays on The Ohio State Golf Team also has made Championship Flight with a score of 153.
All other players will be placed in respective flights based on their qualifyingscores. Match play will begin tomorrow at 7:00 am with Second Flight leading theway. Championship Flight matches will be start between 9:00 am and 12:52 pm.The last match will tee off at 3:45 pm. The public is welcome to attend at no charge.At the end of play tomorrow half of the 144 players entered into this Championship will be off to their next event or on their way home. It’s alwayshard to say good bye to the players who have lost their matches. The women inblue jackets of the WWGA want to thank them for their participation in our 113thamateur tournament and wish them the best in their future endeavors.For more information about the WWGA 113th National Amateur Championshipplease visit our website at www.WWGA.org.
ABOUT THE
Women's Western Amateur
Held without interruption since its inception in 1901, the Women's Western Amateur is among the oldest annual championships in women's amateur golf. Each year, it attracts many of the top amateur and collegiate golfers in the world. The list of past champions spans more than a century, from legendary stars Patty Berg (1938) and Louise Suggs (1946, 1947) to modern standouts like Brittany Lang (2003), Stacy Lewis (2006) and Ariya Jutanugarn (2012).
ENTRY INFORMATION
The Women's Western Amateur is open to amateur
women who have an up-to-date 18-hole
handicap index
that does not exceed 5.4 under the World Handicap
System. The championship begins with 36 holes of stroke-
play qualifying, after which the field is cut to
the low 32
players for match play. In the event of a tie for the
32nd position, a sudden-elimination playoff
will determine
the final match play qualifiers. Five rounds of 18-hole
matches will decide the Women's
Western Amateur
champion.
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