Battling through multiple weather delays during the final round, Shena Yang of Tampa, claimed the 20th Women’s Amateur Stroke Play Championship at Bent Pine Golf Club, July 11-13.
Yang, a University of South Florida alumnus, only missed one green in her final round. Her five birdies on Sunday helped her claim the championship by three strokes over Palm Beach Garden’s Tara Connelly. Consistency was key for Yang all week, shooting 71-74-69-214. Shena was one-stroke behind Emma Albrecht, of Ormond Beach, heading into the final round at Bent Pine. Birdying the first hole on Sunday, Yang quickly closed the gap between her and Albrecht, but she didn’t stop there, birdying the par-5 fourth hole to take the lead. Even with a double-bogey on her sixteenth hole, Yang finished one under on her back nine en route to her final round of 69.
Tara Connelly was also very consistent all week, firing 73-72-72-217 for the championship. With four birdies in her final round she was in the hunt for the title all week. But like everyone in the field, she had difficulty catching up to Yang’s great final round. Connelly, the recent co-medalist at the Women’s Amateur, the 2014 Women’s International Champion with friend Meghan Stasi, and team member of the Florida team for the US Women’s State Team Championship, has a lot on her schedule for the remainder of the season. Exempt into this year’s US Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship, Connelly will compete at Harbour Hills Golf Club in Noblesville, Indiana, September 6-11.
Janelle Johnson, of Royal Palm Beach, and Hannah Leiner, of Pompano Beach, finished tied for third with a total score of 2-over-par 218. Close behind at a three-day total of 220, Ashley Burke of Boynton Beach and Emma Albrecht of Ormond Beach finished tied for fifth for the championship.
