The 132 players in the 2013 USGA Senior Women’s Championship, which opened play at CordeValle Resort last Saturday, continuing through Thursday, 26 September, have been treated to a variety of Northern California weather over the last three days. Starting with mist, light rain, and intermittent breezes on Saturday, followed by warm, sunny weather Sunday, and more of the same as match play rounds started on Monday, the ladies have played CordeValle’s Robert Trent Jones, Jr. golf course under a variety of conditions.
The weekend’s stroke play qualification ended with Japan’s Akemi Khaiat, 50, taking medalist honors with a two-day total of 147, 3 over par. Mina Hardin, 53, of Fort Worth, Texas, took second, carding a pair of 74s for a 4-over-par 148. Tying for third-place honors were Martha Leach, 51, of Hebron, KY, and Rocklin, CA’s Lynne Cowan, 50, a golf equipment sales representative who attended San Jose State.
The stroke play rounds played over the weekend served to cut the field to 64 players for the match play portion of the tournament. Besides Lynne Cowan, four other Northern California players advanced to match play: Rachel Moreaux (San Rafael), Juvy Timan (Watsonville), Marianne Towersey (Pebble Beach) and Sandra Woodruff (Santa Cruz). Terry Mayes, of Gilroy, missed qualifying for match play by one stroke, and Mill Valley’s Pat Cornett, a Salinas native playing in her 60th USGA championship, posted scores of 81-86–167 to miss the match play cut by three strokes.
The number of local golfers in the field was cut to two in the first round of match play. Sandra Woodruff, the owner/operator of Valley Gardens Golf Course, a 9-hole layout in Scotts Valley, won the 17th and 18th holes of her match against Marilyn Hardy, of Dallas, to extend the match, but fell to Hardy with a bogey on the first extra hole. San Rafael’s Rachel Moreaux lost to Joan Higgins, of Glendora, CA, 2-down, and in an all-Northern California match, Juvy Timan of Watsonville was defeated by Lynn Cowan. Marianne Towersey of Pebble Beach became the second Northern Californian to advance when she defeated Carol Sarkissian of Chino Hills 5 and 3 in the final match of the day.
Lynne Cowan faces Tanna Richard, of Fort Smith, AR in second-round action Tuesday morning at 8:40 AM; Marianne Towersey draws another late match, against Susan Cohn, of Palm Beach Gardens, FL, playing at 10:30 AM.
