PORTLAND, ORE – For the first time in United States Golf Association (USGA) history, two Canadians, both from Ontario, met in the finals of an amateur championship. Etobicoke’s Terrill Samuel and Thornhill’s Judith Kyrinis teed it up on Sept. 14 at the Waverley Country Club in Portland, Oregon to see who would be the one to bring the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur title back to Ontario.
Simply making the final was an accomplishment, but both women were looking to become the first Canadian USGA champion since St. Thomas’ Mary Ann Hayward captured the 2005 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur. The most recent Canadian to win the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur was none other than World Golf Hall of Famer, Marlene Stewart Streit, in 2003.
The championship match began with Kyrinis, a member at the Thornhill Club, taking the lead on the first hole. Samuel, from Weston Golf & Country Club would respond with a par on the fifth to even the match. Kyrinis moved back in front thanks to a birdie on the seventh and held onto that lead as they made the turn. Kyrinis would take the 12th and 13th to move to 3up. Then, on the 15th, she made birdie to win the match and the championship 4&3.
Kyrinis, 53, was the highest ranked Canadian coming out of the stroke-play portion of the competition at ninth. She beat American Jen Holland 6&4 in the round of 64, 2009 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Champion Martha Leach (USA) 5&4, in the round of 32, 2009 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Champion Sherry Herman (USA) 2up in the round of 16, American Lisa McGill 2&1 in the quarterfinals, before ousting former LPGA Tour professional Tara Fleming (USA) 2&1 in the semifinals.
Samuel, 56, entered the match play portion of the championship ranked 47th. She began with a win over Terri Frohnmayer (USA) 1up in the round of 64, then defeated Liz Waynick (USA) in the round of 32 in 20 holes, Carolyn Creekmore (USA) 2up in the round of 16, followed by a 5&3 win over American Patricia Cornett in the quarterfinals, she then needed 19 holes to get past former LPGA Tour player Patricia Schremmer (USA) in the semis to reach the finals.
The U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, open to female amateurs age 50 and older with a Handicap Index not exceeding 18.4, consists of two 18-hole rounds of stroke play and six rounds of match play.
Both finalists receive an exemption from qualifying into the inaugural 2018 U.S. Senior Women’s Open Championship at the historic Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton, Ill., with the winner receiving a two-year exemption into the championship. Both finalists also receive a two-year exemption into the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur (2017 and 2018) and exemptions for future U.S. Senior Women’s Amateurs – 10 years for the winner and three for the runner-up.
Golf Ontario would like to congratulate both Kyrinis and Samuel for their excellent showing.
Round by round scoring can be found on USGA’s tournament site at: http://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/championships/2017/u-s–senior-women-s-amateur.html
