BOWLING GREEN, KY (June 27, 2023) – The stroke play qualifying for the Clark’s Pump-N-Shop 99^th Women’s Amateur is now in the books. The championship division provided great entertainment down the stretch as players fought to earn a spot in the match-play portion. Payton Carter finds herself in familiar territory heading into the final round as the number seed.

The morning wave will start with two semi-final matches between the four players who finished at the top of the leaderboard over the past two days. Alaina Schmitt (3) and Faith Martin (4) will commence the semi-final matches at 8:00 AM CST. With only a couple of blemishes on the card, Schmitt managed her way into the final four of the championship. For the match play portion, she will look to channel Monday’s round where she carded six birdies. Martin, representing Western Kentucky University, used her home-field advantage to earn her spot in the semi-finals. Martin didn’t get discouraged from an opening round 77 (+5) only to bounce back and shoot a 71 (-1) which was a share for the low round of the day.

Following the 8:00 AM groups, comes the second semi-final match featuring our defending champion, Carter (1), and Abbie Lee (4). Carter, representing Murray State, set the pace for the entire stroke play portion of the championship racing out to an early lead and maintaining it with another 71 (-1)  for today’s round. Lee, a bit of a dark horse coming into the championship, scratched and clawed her way into the final four. Through thirty-one holes, Lee found herself four shots back from punching her ticket into match play. From there, she caught fire, birding four of her last five holes to force a playoff with Eastern Kentucky University’s Mary Keene Marrs. The playoff ended on the first hole with Lee notching a par on the par four fifteenth.

In addition to the championship flight, six players moved on to the match play portion from the two senior divisions within the tournament. Jessica Cornelius and Cindy Summers will face off for the title of Senior Gross Champion, while Joan Waldrop and Melynda Riley will battle for the title of Senior Net Champion. Rounding out the tee sheet, Cookie Whitehouse and Melba Kindervater will play in the Senior Net Consolation bracket.

NOTES & STATS

• Half of the previous champions made it into the match-play portion of the championship. Jessica Cornelius who will play for the Senior Gross title and Payton Carter who looks to go back-to-back.
• Number one took the honor of the hardest hole for today’s round, playing nearly a full stroke over par. The hole went the entire way, without giving up one bridie to the field.
• The par five eighteenth was the easiest hole of the day, playing just under par for the field. The field grabbed eight birdies throughout the day on the final hole.

Click here for the stroke play results

Click here for the match trees

Click here for tee times

Golf House Kentucky will continue to have full coverage of the championship on its Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages. Attendance of the tournament is permitted with spectators welcome free of charge.

About the Kentucky Golf Association:
The Kentucky Golf Association (KGA) is one of the three organizations encompassed under Golf House Kentucky, in addition to the Kentucky Golf Foundation (KGF) and Kentucky PGA Section (KPGA). The Kentucky Golf Association represents the amateur body of Kentucky’s golfers working in assistance with the United States Golf Association (USGA). The KGA provides a wide range of services, including handicapping, USGA course and slope ratings, and tournament management software to its Member Clubs. The KGA also operates the state’s premier amateur tournaments along with USGA National Championship qualifiers. Alongside the KGF and KPGA, the KGA strives to promote the benefits and enjoyment of golf while continuing to grow the sport across the Commonwealth.