SARASOTA, Fla. - The 2023 Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship saw 21 players tee off on Friday, three of which were past Florida Mid-Am champions, and five players past US Women’s Mid-Amateur qualifiers.
Championship Division
Heritage Oaks Golf & Country Club is no stranger to hosting top FSGA championships. The 2021 host site for the Florida Women’s Open & Senior Open was primed and ready to test the players. With hardly a blade of grass out of place, narrow fairways and passing storms proved to be a challenge for even the best players.
Meghan Stasi started her championship with an opening round 2-over par, 73. This would give Stasi a one shot lead over defending champion Ashley Zagers, as well as, Brooke Raney and Ailsa Clark. The trio shot an opening round 74. Stasi’s round was highlighted by a birdie on the 14th hole and a closing birdie on the difficult 18th after making a 20-foot putt to close out her day.
Round two greeted players with hot and muggy conditions. With a slow start to her day, Stasi was 2-over par after her first seven holes, however, this quickly changed with three birdies coming in and one additional bogey. Stasi would card an even par round of 71, which was the low round for the tournament. Zagers remained steady, hanging close to the lead throughout her day. With consistent nines of 36-36, Zagers carded a 1-over par, 72 for her second round. While losing one additional shot to the lead, Zagers was far from out of contention and had her sights set on defending her title. Notable rounds from day two also included Ailsa Clark, Sokhary Pavese, and Kim Benedict who all shot a respectable 3-over par, 74.
The final round began at 8:30am with winds kicking up shortly after. With consistent wind speeds of 10-15 mph, Heritage Oaks showed players just how difficult it could play. Battling the conditions, Stasi and Zagers were back-and-forth all day long sharing the lead and trading places for the lead. With both players tied through the 17th hole, a playoff seemed likely, but after a spectacular approach shot into the 18th green, Zagers two putt par was enough to take a one shot lead and defend her title as the Women’s Mid-Amateur Champion.
At the end of the competition, the three past champions in the field (Zagers, Stasi, and Benedict) all finished in the top three for this year’s event.
Middle Division
The Middle Division started their championship on Saturday for a thirty-six hole event. Off to an early lead for the championship was Chris Martin. Martin started her event with an opening round 78, which gave her a five shot lead heading into the final day. Jill Spence and Ashley Nelson concluded their opening round with a 12-over par 83 to sit tied for second place.
Also battling the winds in day two, the Middle Division saw many changes on the leaderboard. Spence played consistently throughout the day and carded a second round 78, which was the low round for the day and vaulted her to a three shot victory over Nelson.
Forward Division
The Forward Division also kicked off their championship on Saturday along with the Middle Division. Bonnie Blanchard’s opening round of 86 would be the low round of the event for the forward division. Her rounds were highlighted by a birdie on day one on the 14th hole, and a birdie on 17 during day two.
Lurking close behind Blanchard was Nancy Suto. With an opening round 90, she sat only four shots off the lead heading into day two. Blanchard took control quickly in the final round and ultimately clamed an 11-shot victory. Suto maintained her position in second place, and with rounds of 95-93—188, Beth Pajak rounded out the top three.
Middle First Flight
1. Janet Van Slyke (85-85 –170)
2. Liz Boudreaux (89-85—174)
3. Kimberly Byle (89-90—179)
Forward First Flight
1. Donna Currie (96-95-191)
2. Jan Bailey (95-96—191)
3. Marijane Boyd (95-98—193)
