Tennant makes it to Round of 16 before falling in U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur
Lara Tennant’s attempt at winning another national title fell short this year, as she could go no further than the Round of 16 at the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur being held this week at Troon Country Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.
In this morning’s Round of 32, Tennant had defeated Karin Luxon of Switzerland, 3 and 1. But in the afternoon’s Round of 16, Tennant could not get on track or keep up with Brenda Corrie Kuehn of Asheville, N.C., who won the first hole of the match and never looked back, defeating Tennant 4 and 3.
Earlier in the day, in the Round of 32, Corrie Kuehn had defeated Ginny Burkey of Eugene, Ore. Burkey is an 8-time PNGA Women’s Senior Team champion, and is vice president on the PNGA Board of Directors.
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Tennant had earned medalist honors in this championship, shooting rounds of 73-73 in the two qualifying rounds, and claimed the No. 1 seed going into the match-play portion of the national championship. She then won her first two matches, in the Rounds of 64 and 32, before her loss to Kuehn.
Tennant, a native of Portland, Ore., has won three U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur titles (2018, 2019 and 2021), earning co-medalist honors for this championship, which she did in 2017 and 2021. She was inducted into the Pacific Northwest Golf Hall of Fame in 2022.
Other Northwest players:
Shelly Stouffer of Nanoose Bay, B.C. was the defending champion, having won this title last year when it was held at Anchorage (Alaska) Golf Course. She was the No. 3 seed in this year’s match play bracket, but lost in the Round of 32 to Sylvie Van Molle of Belgium. Stouffer was named the 2022 PNGA Senior Women’s Player of the Year, and two weeks ago she won the PNGA Senior Women’s Amateur, which she also won in 2022.
Terri Frohnmayer of Meridian, Idaho won this national championship in 2011, which propelled her to being named the 2011 PNGA Senior Women’s Player of the Year. She qualified for this year’s match-play bracket as the No. 31 seed, but lost in the Round of 64 to Nadene Gole of Australia.
Ginny Burkey of Eugene, Ore. is an 8-time champion of the PNGA Women’s Senior Team, a two-time winner of Washington Senior Amateur, and was twice named the WA Golf Senior Women’s Player of the Year. She currently is the vice president on the PNGA Board of Directors. She made it to the Round of 32 in this year’s championship before losing a heartbreaker in 21 holes to Brenda Corrie Kuehn. Burkey had been 2-up in the match with two holes to play, but lost the 17th and 18th holes to go to extra holes.
Qualifying for the championship but not advancing to match play were PNGA Hall of Famer Jackie Little of Vernon, B.C.; Rosie Cook of Bend, Ore., who won the 2021 PNGA Senior Women’s Amateur; PNGA Hall of Famer Mary Budke of Rancho Mirage, Calif.; and Kim Shek of Bellevue, Wash., the 2022 WA Golf Senior Women’s Player of the Year.
