FORT MYERS, Fla. - Late April at the FSGA marks the beginning of the championship season. The Women’s Senior Amateur is the first individual women’s championship of the year, and will begin April 22-24. The top senior women amateurs in the state will all head to Fort Myers to compete for the title at Lexington Country Club.
The tournament consists of four separate divisions: Senior Championship, Senior Field, Super-Senior Championship, and Super-Senior Field. The Senior Championship Division will play fifty-four holes of individual stroke play, while the Super-Senior Championship and Field Divisions will compete over thirty-six holes of individual stroke play. Ultimately, two champions will earn trophies as victors of the Senior and Super-Senior Championship Divisions.
Last year, Terrill Samuel successfully defended her title and captured her second consecutive Women’s Senior Amateur victory at Eagle Creek in Naples. Moreover, Marianne Springer captured her first title as Women’s Super-Senior Amateur Championship. Both champions return this year to compete with six other past champions for yet another title. These other six past champions in the field include: Kim Keyer-Scott, Taffy Brower, Christine Hunt, Susan Cohn, Mary Jane Hiestand, and Patricia Hughes-Gelardi.
The defending champion for the second straight year, Terrill Samuel, is a name that is most likely to be at the top of the leaderboard once again. In 2023, she secured a top-ten finish at the U.S. Senior Women’s Open Championship and advanced to match play at the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur. So far, she has picked up the 2024 season where she left off last year as she finished first in her division at the 77th Women’s International Four-Ball with partner, Lisa McGill.
Other notable players in the field include, 2023 Women’s Senior Player of the Year Recipient, Kim Keyer-Scott. Keyer-Scott earned the Senior Player of the Year honors for the third time after a spectacular 2023 season littered with FSGA championship top finishes and USGA appearances. TheWomen’s Senior Amateur past champion has already picked up at championship victory this year at the Women’s Senior Four-Ball with partner, Tama Caldabaugh.
Hall of Fame Inductee, Mary Jane Hiestand will also compete for the title at Lexington. Hiestand has the most Senior Women’s Amateur titles with four past victories. In addition, not only has she earned Women’s Senior Player of the Year honors seven times, as well as Women’s Player of the year one time, she has also competed in over fifty USGA events. Hiestand’s elite golf resume is yet another story in itself, so do not be surprised to see her name on the leaderboard next week.
Finally, be on the lookout for Gigi Higgins as she hopes to capture her first Women’s Senior Amateur victory. Higgins is a two-time Senior Women’s Player of the Year recipient, and she has also had her share of USGA appearances along with FSGA championship victories. In fact, last year she secured a top-ten finish at Eagle Creek and she is hoping to close it out this year and add Women’s Senior Amateur Champion to her resume as well.
Furthermore, Lexington Country Club plays host to the championships as it showcases over 7,000 yards of a recently redesigned golf course. The original design was constructed by Gordon Lewis in 1995, and then renovated in 2017 by Kipp Schulties Golf Design. The course features generous fairways with large landing areas. However, the challenge lies in the large greens, strategically placed bunkers, and numerous lakes and ponds throughout the eighteen holes.
Overall, the field for the first women’s individual championship of the season is stacked with talent, and Lexington Country Club will provide a great test of golf for the ladies. Follow along with live scoring as the best senior women’s amateurs in the state battle for the trophy.
