Saturday is known as Moving Day in any championship and the top-50 players and ties who qualified for the weekend at the 5th U.S. Senior Women’s Open have already won one battle – making the cut. The challenge now is to climb up the leaderboard and give themselves a chance to contend on Championship Sunday.
Waverley Country Club and its demanding greens have been every inch a championship test. That examination of skill and mental resiliency will only get tougher on the weekend, both because 90-degree temperatures have firmed up the golf course and because not only does the temperature play a factor but so does the increased pressure of playing for a USGA championship.
Here are 3 things to keep an eye on Saturday at the U.S. Senior Women’s Open
Movers and Shakers
Almost anyone who made the cut has a chance to win if she can climb the leaderboard on Saturday. Among those who are four to eight strokes behind leader Catriona Matthew at 140 are three past champions – Annika Sorenstam (145), Helen Alfredsson (146) and Jill McGill (148). They along with Trish Johnson, who has two top-3 finishes in this championship, are worth keeping an eye on.
The five most difficult holes on Waverly are on the front nine: No. 7, No. 6, No. 3, No. 8 and No. 4. Keep an eye out for who gets off to a fast start. That player will have a chance to build on a low score on the back nine, which has three par-5s, including Nos. 17 and 18.
Amateurs
The scramble for low amateur is going to be very interesting as the weekend unfolds. A record nine amateurs made the cut, breaking the old mark of seven, and only four strokes separate the nine. Leading the way after 36 holes is Judith Kyrinis, who won the 2017 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur at Waverley, at 147 followed by Terrill Samuel and Sue Wooster at 148.
Behind them is highly decorated USGA champions Ellen Port at 149 and U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion Martha Leach at 150. Then there is a quartet at 151: Kathy Hartwiger, Patty Ehrhart, Andrea Miller and Corey Weworski. That certainly sets the stage for an intense battle on the weekend.
A Stern Test
Only four players broke par in Friday’s second round with the best score of the day being 70 by Sherry Andonian, who opened with an 82 and needed every birdie she made in the second round to make the cut on the number. Catriona Matthew, Nicole Jeray and Annika Sorenstam all shot 71. There is every reason to expect that Waverly will be just as demanding on Saturday.
When par is a difficult score to achieve, hitting greens in regulation is a key stat. Going into the weekend, Moira Dunn-Bohls leads by knocking it on in regulation 33 of 36 times. Christa Johnson is second with 31 GIR. Annika Sorenstam, Nicole Jeray, Leta Lindley, Lisa DePaulo and leader Catriona Matthew all have hit 29 greens. Those are some names to watch Saturday.
Ron Sirak is a Massachusetts-based freelance writer whose work has previously appeared on USGA websites.
