Local golfers in top ten for NYSGA Women’s Amateur and Mid-Am

NYSGA’s 80th Women’s Amateur: Tied for fifth is Bailey Cocca Shaker Ridge CC , T7 Annemarie Kissane Capital Hills at Albany , T7 Leslie Arakelian Pinehaven CC

Inaugural Women’s Mid-Amateur championship: 4th Leslie Arakelian Pinehaven CC, T5 Gail Brophy Saratoga National GC, T7 Karen Feldman Olde Kinderhook

Carmody & Schultz Lead Pack After Round One

For complete listings and scores click on www.nysga.org

Syracuse, N.Y. — Tuesday’s forecast greeted players with everything but snow for the 80th Women’s Amateur and Inaugural Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship. Clear skies welcomed the field of 70 competitors as they played their first few holes at Drumlins East, site of the 1988 Women’s Amateur. However, hit-or-miss thunderstorm cells in the afternoon made it about as difficult to predict the weather as it was to read the undulated greens on the course.

Mary Carmody, of Elm Tree G.C., had no trouble reading the greens as she fired the low-round of the day with a 1-under-par 70. “The greens were rolling very nice and playing true,” says Carmody. “I practiced yesterday a lot with putting. I practiced hitting like 5-footers and it paid off today.” A graduate of Longwood University two months ago, Carmody was never able to compete in the post-season NCAA Championships because her school does not have a conference affiliation. Regardless, she posted an even-par score on the front and finished 1-under on the back nine. Carmody bogeyed the 11th hole, a par-4 that plays entirely uphill with a blind tee-shot. She registered consecutive birdies on the next two holes and stayed even for the final five holes to record the only round under-par on the day. She left herself 15-feet for birdie on the 12th hole after a magnificent tee shot that landed below the pin, avoiding any danger above the pin with a downhill sloping green. She sunk the uphill putt to return to even for the day. However, that score wouldn’t last long as she birdied the par-5 13th hole.

The defending repeat champion, Christy Schultz, of Brook-Lea C.C., had an impressive round of even-par 71 after the first day. She started off the back nine and found herself 2-over-par after just two holes of play. Schultz bogeyed the 10th hole, a long par-4 that stretches to 370 yards. She followed with a bogey on the 11th hole, a popular trend on the day as players struggled with the difficult layout and two-tiered green once you make your way up the hill. However, she played consistent and managed three birdies to offset her three bogeys, including a strong finish with birdies on the 8th and 9th holes. “I birdied the last two holes so I finished fantastic,” says Schultz in review of her round. Her round of even-par 71 is good for second in the Women’s Amateur standings. However, she sits atop the leaderboard for the Mid-Amateur field with a two-stroke lead over Teresa Cleland, of Bellevue C.C., who played with Schultz today.

Cleland, a semifinalist in the Women’s Amateur Championship last year, opened her round with 14-straight pars before a bogey on the 15th hole. Cleland said, “On 15, I thought I had a pretty good read on it but it just happened to lip out on me.” Despite the missed putt, Cleland was pleased with the conditions of the course and the greens today. “I felt like I had the speed down pretty good on the greens and I thought they rolled beautiful,” says Cleland.

“I’m familiar with the course being from the Syracuse area and playing it in the Syracuse District, but I really think playing Bellevue helps out because it’s so tight there that it enabled me to stay out of trouble and keep my ball on the fairway today,” says Cleland.

Also starting off the back nine and finishing with a 2-over-par 73 was Kristina Wong, of Binghamton C.C. Wong, the second-ranked junior in the country according to Golfweek, answered a three-putt bogey start on the opening par-5 with a birdie on the 508-yard par-5 that followed. She played even until the 11th hole where she joined the list of players to bogey the difficult uphill par-5. Like Schultz, Wong was able to birdie the 15th hole, a long par-4 with a green that slopes back to front. “It was kind of a grind out there,” says Wong in playing through difficult conditions.

The second round will continue again on Wednesday at 7:30 a.m. with a cut being made at the conclusion of round two. Please visit www.nysga.org for live scoring and pairing information for Round 2.

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