PALM COAST, Fla. - The Women's Senior Amateur Match Play Championship, the final Women's Championship of 2019, headed to The Conservatory at Hammock Beach and was a great test for the top senior women competitors. Liliana Ruiz-Munoz prevailed to capture her first FSGA championship victory.
Championship Division
The championship began on Monday morning with a 18-hole stroke-play seeding round. Lin Culver, the 2018 champion, earned medalist honors with a 2-under 70. The match play portion of the championship began on Tuesday with the Round of 16. Kathy Glennon had the biggest win of the morning, defeating Culver in 19 holes to advance to the quarterfinals, in a rematch of the 2018 championship match. The No. 2 seed, Carolina Hart defeated Betsy Knights, 4 and 2, to move on to the next match. Lisa Schlesinger, the reigning Senior Women's Players of the Year, capture a victory in the Round of 16, defeating Maria Larrazabal, 1 up. No. 13 seed Liliana Ruiz-Munoz upset the No. 4 seed Gigi Higgins, 1 up, on Tuesday to advance to the quarterfinals.
On Tuesday morning, competitors teed it up for the quarterfinal matches. Kathy West picked up a big win in the quarterfinals, defeating Schlesinger, 6 and 5, to move on to the semifinals. Ruiz-Munoz earned a win against Mary Jane Hiestand, the seven-time FSGA Senior Player of the Year, 2 and 1. Hart defeated Tama Caldabaugh, 5 and 3, to advance to reach the Wednesday's match. Carolyn Creekmore continued on to the semifinals with a win against Glennon, 1 up.
Ruiz-Munoz punched her ticket to the championship match with a 6 and 5 win against Creekmore. Hart defeated West, 2 and 1, on Wednesday morning to earn a spot in the afternoon championship match. Ruiz-Munoz, an Orlando native, took an early lead in the final match, winning two of the first three holes. Hart fought back to bring the match back to all square on the eighth holes. Pulling back into the lead, Ruiz-Munoz won the 10th and 11th holes to take a 2 up lead. Hart won the 13th hole, but Ruiz-Munoz held onto to the lead and secured the win 1 up in Palm Coast. Ruiz-Munoz was playing the final round in honor of her friend Kim, who has cancer.
Taffy Brower was victorious in the Championship First bracket, defeating Sarah Phillips-Durst, 2 and 1. In the Championship Second Bracket, Jodi Sullivan defeated Mindy Smith, 9 and 8.
Middle Division
The Middle Division saw Sheila Brocki and Meredith Blinn advance to the final match. Brocki defeated Cindi Gomez and Patricia Gelardi, while Blinn earned wins against Lynn Fullmer and Paula Boulette. Brocki
played tough to secure a 2 and 1 victory against Blinn . In the Middle First bracket, Shari Zeimetz defeated Cheryl Sadlon, 5 and 3.
Forward Division
The final match of the Forward Division saw Gilda Perez and Cindy Kinjo-Hardart face off for the win. Perez defeated Janet Strong and Jennifer Rushmore, while Kinjo-Hardart earned wins against Kathy Fleser and Wendy Moffat. Perez earned the 2 up win against Kinjo-Hardart to secure the victory. In the Forward First bracket, Lory Cassens defeated Catherine Saenz, 6 and 3.
