Kimberly Dinh (USGA Photo)
Some of the greatest names in golf have walked the fairways of Brae Burn Country Club, in West Newton, Mass. Founded in 1897, the club’s current championship course was designed by Golden Age architect Donald Ross in 1912, and then underwent an extensive renovation ahead of the 1928 U.S. Amateur that was captured by the legendary Bob Jones, one of his nine USGA titles. Ross, in fact, is buried down the road from the club in the Newton Cemetery.
Edward Stimpson Jr., the inventor the Stimpmeter that measures green speeds, was a Brae Burn member and his original implement from 1936 is housed inside the clubhouse. He got the idea for such a device while taking in the 1935 U.S. Open at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club.
Brae Burn, which returns to the national spotlight this week for the 37th U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship, hosted its first USGA championship 118 years ago when Harriot Curtis claimed the U.S. Women’s Amateur. Harriot, along with sister Margaret, helped create the Curtis Cup Match that has been contested on a biennial basis since 1932.
World Golf Hall of Fame inductee Walter Hagen won the 1919 U.S. Open there, followed nine years later by Jones’ fourth of five U.S. Amateur victories. In 1975, Beth Daniel captured the second U.S. Women’s Amateur conducted at Brae Burn, and Silvia Cavalleri became the first Italian USGA champion when she defeated Robin Burke in the 1997 U.S. Women’s Amateur final.
Two Curtis Cups have also been staged at Brae Burn, a 4½-4½ draw in 1958 and a five-point USA win over Great Britain & Ireland 12 years later.
This week, the finest 25-and-older female golfers will test their skills on this Ross gem in the Boston suburbs. By next Thursday, one individual will hoist the Mildred Gardinor Prunaret Trophy and receive all of the perks awarded to the champion of the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur.
Here are 3 Things to Know:
Young and Younger
For several years, this championship could have been called the U.S. Middle-Aged Championship. While always open to those 25 and older, the field trended heavily to competitors in their 40s and 50s. At the 2014 championship at Harbour Trees Golf Club, in Noblesville, Ind., the average age of the 132-player field was 43.1. The champions from that era also reflected those trends.
Five of the eight winners from 2004 to 2011 were over the age of 40, including two in their 50s (Joan Higgins and Ellen Port, who won her fourth at age 50). Port’s 2010 triumph came over 49-year-old Martha Leach, the defending champion.
Fast forward a decade and the winners of the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur have primarily been in their 20s, and none since 2012 have been over the age of 35. Seven of the last 10 champions have been 20-somethings, including two of the last three (Blakesly Brock and Krissy Carman).
The number of competitors between 25 and 29 has also increased in the last few years. This year alone, 35.6 percent of the field (47) are under the age of 30, including 10 who are 25 and eligible for the first time. Last year at Stonewall, 45 were under the age of 30. There were 41 in 2022, 36 in 2001 and 38 in 2019.
Why the increase? For years, many post-college female players either turned professional, or started families/careers that limited the time they could devote to high-level competitive golf. Now many of those same players are finding time to balance both career/family and golf. Plus, in 2017, the USGA decided to award the champion of the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur an exemption into the U.S. Women’s Open, providing a nice perk to the assembled field.
Another thing this youth movement has done for the championship? Strengthen the field.
Been There, Dinh That
Kimberly Dinh said goodbye to her 20s on July 15, 2022, but that didn’t lead to a decline in on-course production for the Michigan left-hander. Last year at Stonewall, in Elverson, Pa., the 32-year-old became the fourth female southpaw to claim a USGA championship. Not bad for a senior research analyst at Dow Chemical who possesses a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and played collegiately at the University of Wisconsin. In fact, like a fine wine, Dinh seems to be getting better with age. She won the 2021 Michigan Women’s Amateur as the oldest player in the field.
Now she goes for a rare repeat in the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur, something that has only been achieved on three previous occasions since the championship began in 1987. Sarah LeBrun Ingram was the first in 1993-94 and was quickly followed by Ellen Port in 1995-96. A decade later, Meghan (Bolger) Stasi captured consecutive titles from 2006-07.
Captain O’ Captain
Less than a week after captaining the USA Curtis Cup Team to a tough one-point defeat in the biennial Match against Great Britain & Ireland at Sunningdale Golf Club in England, Meghan Stasi will replace her radio and earpiece for clubs, balls, tees and divot-repair tools. The record-tying four-time champion – she shares that feat with Ellen Port – will exchange lineup cards for her own scorecard as she competes in her 18th U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur.
At least the 46-year-old from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., who owns and operates the Shuck N’ Dive restaurant with husband, Danny, will have had sufficient time to get over the jetlag from the nearly 8-hour flight from London to Boston and adjust to the five-hour time difference.
Given a special exemption into the championship by the USGA, Stasi has done plenty in her USGA career to justify that decision. She’s the youngest golfer to ever be inducted to the Florida State Golf Association Hall of Fame, thanks to 17 FSGA titles, including a pair of Florida State Women’s Amateurs and five Florida State Mid-Amateurs. In 2008, she helped the USA Curtis Cup Team claim victory on the Old Course at St Andrews, then got engaged the following day on the Swilcan Bridge.
Two years ago, at Fiddlesticks Country Club, in Fort Myers, Fla., she advanced to the quarterfinals before losing to medalist and top seed Jennifer Peng.
Stasi now hopes her whirlwind month can finish with a fifth title.
Courtesy of David Shefter of the USGA
ABOUT THE
U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur
The U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur originated in
1987 to provide a national competitive arena
for amateurs 25 and older. Besides the age
restriction, the event is open to those with a
USGA Handicap Index of 9.4 or lower. It is
one of 14 national championships conducted
annually by the USGA, 10 of which are strictly
for amateurs.
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