Mid-Am winner Meghan Stasi
by Pete Kowalski
The winners of the inaugural Mid-Amateur and Senior Amateur Championships of the Ladies National Golf Association have a combined seven USGA titles in their competitive resumes.
In windiest conditions of the event at Anthem Golf and Country Club’s Ironwood Course, Meghan Stasi, of Oakland Park, Fla., a four-time U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion fired an even-par 72 Wednesday for a 54-hole total of 222 to win the LNGA Mid-Amateur Championship by five strokes, and three-time U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion Sarah Ingram, of Nashville, Tenn., shot 76 and won the LNGA Senior Amateur Championship at 226 by six strokes.
Stasi fashioned an even-par round of 72 that featured three birdies on the front nine and four total against four bogeys for the best round of the day among the Mid-Amateurs.
“This win is right up there with them all,” said Stasi, who has won numerous titles in Florida and Pennsylvania in addition to her USGA wins. “A win any time is great now. There are just so many great players now.”
The eight-time Florida Amateur Player of the Year finished five strokes ahead of eight-time South Carolina State Amateur champion Dawn Woodard, of Greer, S.C., and two-time U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur quarterfinalist Amanda Jacobs, of Portland, Ore. Woodard is the other member of Stasi’s side at the 6th U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championships, which will start Saturday at Maridoe Golf Club in Dallas.
“Ball-striking wise, I was a lot better today,” Stasi said. “I hit 3-wood a little more and I played well. I had four birdies, three on the front and I had a lot of chances on the back – five or six chances within 20 feet. I just wanted to make a lot of pars.”
Past U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion Kelsey Chugg, of Salt Lake City, Utah was fourth at 230 and first round co-leader Gretchen Johnson of Portland, Ore., was fifth at 234. Another U.S. Mid-Amateur champion, Lauren Greenlief of Ashburn, Va., tied for sixth.
Ingram, the current USA Curtis Cup captain, showed the temperament of an experienced by shaking off a double bogey on the 12th hole. She finished her round with two birdies, three pars and a bogey.
“To me it’s a big deal,” said Ingram, who holds a place in the Tennessee Golf and Duke Athletics Halls of Fame. “It’s my first big win in my second career since I took 22 tears off and now I have been back at it for three years. To break through and win is exciting. I finally have a Trans/LNGA title, which is exciting.”
Shelly Haywood of Huntington Beach, Calif., the former Arizona women’s golf coach, finished second at 232 and was followed by Kimberly Eaton, of Mesa, Ariz., in third at 233 with Susan West, of Tuscaloosa, Ala., former U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur champion Lara Tennant, of Portland, Ore., and 2004 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion Corey Weworski, of Carlsbad, Calif., tying for fourth at 234.
“I hit some good shots coming home that I hadn’t done most of last year,” Ingram said. “I really tried to make the mindset of the collegiate girls I have been watching. They just shake off bogeys and they are still going at it. I hit some good shots and it felt like when I was really good.”
Both championships are 54-hole, stroke-play events in their inaugural year and were conducted by the Ladies National Golf Association.
“It’s an honor to be part of the group,” said of being an LNGA champion. “I’ve played in the Amateur several times. We are fortunate now that there is a Mid-Am because it’s hard to compete against the young gals. It’s a great start for the inaugural.”
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LNGA Mid-Am & Senior
Must belong to a LNGA member club. 54-hole
stroke play championship for mid-ams and seniors
debuting in 2021 upon the retirement of the LNGA
Senior Four-Ball championship.
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