HAVERFORD, Pa. – Last summer, Sarah LeBrun Ingram captained the United States Team to victory over Great Britain and Ireland in the Curtis Cup Match at Merion Golf Club (East). This year, the accomplished USGA stalwart carded a 4-over-par 78 to guide herself to medalist honors in 61st U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Qualifying administered by GAP at Merion Golf Club (West) (par 74, 5,759 yards).
| Scorecards | Photos |
Also advancing into the Championship proper are Helen Holland of Nashville, Tenn., Kim Shek of Bellevue, Wash., Stephenie Harris of Furlong, Pa., Karen Siegel of Maple Glen, Pa., Kim Kaul of Colden, N.Y. and Celina Lam of Canada. The cut line stopped at 83.
The 61st U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur will take place Sept. 30-Oct. 5 at Troon Country Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.
“I hit it pretty well for the most part,” LeBrun Ingram, 57, of Nashville, Tenn., said. “[I had] a couple of shaky shots here and there, but mostly good. Better than it’s been.”
LeBrun Ingram has made a recent return to competitive golf. She was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at 30 years old. That and a desire to raise her children caused LeBrun Ingram to step away from the game for more than two decades. It was the 2018 U.S. Women’s Amateur at her home club of The Golf Club of Tennessee, where LeBrun Ingram served as the event’s general chairman, that inspired her return.
“I’ve had some good moments, but overall I would say I’ve struggled a little bit with my game.” LeBrun Ingram, who represented the United States in the Curtis Cup on three occasions (1992, 1994, 1996) as a player, said. “It’s fun to get back into it. My expectations [are] much lower. I’ve been able to have fun just trying to get better, and that’s what I think is probably the most fun part of golf to me.”
After advancing through Wednesday’s qualifier, LeBrun Ingram said that she will have played in close to 30 USGA Championships.
“It’s always such a pleasure to play.” LeBrun Ingram, a 1999 inductee to both the Tennessee Golf Hall of Fame and the Duke University Athletics Hall of Fame, said. “I’m pretty much competitive in whatever I do. I love getting better.”
LeBrun Ingram went out in 1-over 38 at Merion. Birdies on Nos. 11 (par 5, 381 yards) and 14 (par 5, 441 yards) aided her quest for the medal. On the former, her 56-degree wedge from 75 yards settled 11 feet from the hole. On the latter, her 5-iron settled 30 feet away from the hole. She drained the lengthy downhiller.
The qualifying chance wasn’t the only reason for the trip back to Merion. Her sister and brother-in-law live near No. 14 of Merion’s East Course.
“Merion has definitely always been one of my favorite golf courses,” LeBrun Ingram said. “I grew up on bent [grass] greens or poa annua like they have here today. There wasn’t a qualifier in the Tennessee area, and I figured if I had to go travel, I might as well travel to bent greens instead of Bermuda. It made sense to come here.”
LeBrun Ingram has bidirectional USGA success at Merion. Curtis Cup at Merion East and now U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Qualifying at Merion West.
Harris, a member of Huntingdon Valley Country Club, carded a 6-over 80. Siegel, a member of Commonwealth National Golf Club, carded a 7-over 81. Both will represent GAP in the Championship proper.
“I really tried to just minimize my errors and play aggressively, but really enjoy myself,” Harris, 53, said. “I think the hardest part of it all is that you just have to go out, play your game and have fun and it’s just going to happen with what you have.”
“I played really well on the front nine. I knew this was a really tough field,” Siegel, 59, said. “I was just trying to come out and hit good shots. I was very relaxed and comfortable, and I was hitting it really well.”
GAP
Celebrating Amateur Golf since 1897, GAP, also known as the Golf Association of Philadelphia, is the oldest regional or state golf association in the United States. It serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. The organization’s 340 Member Clubs and 100,000 individual members are spread across Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and Maryland. The GAP’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.
| Qualifiers | |
| Name, city, state | Score |
| Sarah LeBrun Ingram, Nashville, Tenn. | 78 |
| Helen Holland, Nashville, Tenn. | 79 |
| Kim Shek, Bellevue, Wash. | 80 |
| Stephenie Harris, Furlong, Pa. | 80 |
| Karen Siegel, Maple Glen, Pa. | 81 |
| Kim Kaul, Colden, N.Y. | 82 |
| Celina Lam, Canada | 83 |
| Alternates (in order) | |
| Donna McHugh, Jupiter, Fla. | 84 |
| Elizabeth Haines, Gladwyne, Pa. | 84 |
| Failed to qualify | |
| Loraine Jones, Newtown Square, Pa. | 85 |
| Angie Whitley Coleman, Wilmington, Del. | 85 |
| Shannon Hare-Rouillard, Chatham, N.J. | 85 |
| Sharon Hoffman, Lawrence, N.Y. | 86 |
| Tina Thatcher-Zolfaghari, Coopersburg, Pa. | 86 |
| Alicia Ann Kapheim, Pennington, N.J. | 87 |
| Kathleen Maloney, Spring Lake Heights, N.J. | 87 |
| Marion Reid, Canada | 87 |
| Janice Park, Meadowbrook, Pa. | 87 |
| Kristin Shifflett, Fredricksburg, Va. | 88 |
| Monica Pedano, Wayne, Pa. | 88 |
| Lee Burton, Johns Island, S.C. | 88 |
| Maureen Koerwer, Huntingdon Valley, Pa. | 89 |
| Katherine Sahm, Wilmington, Del. | 89 |
| Binney Wietlisbach, Wayne, Pa. | 89 |
| Janis Romeo, Charlotte, N.C. | 90 |
| Donna Young, Ewing, N.J. | 90 |
| Michele Kreisler Rubenstein, Haverford, Pa. | 90 |
| Sarah Braendel, Malvern, Pa. | 90 |
| Diane Cardano-Casacio, Flourtown, Pa. | 91 |
| Myong Kwon, Blue Bell, Pa. | 92 |
| Becky Sanderson, Wyndmoor, Pa. | 93 |
| Jo Rasmussen, Westport, Conn. | 93 |
| Jane Sassaman, Wilmington, Del. | 93 |
| Clair Stewart, King of Prussia, Pa. | 94 |
| Mercedese Large, West Hartford, Conn. | 94 |
| Jill Tryon, West Hartford, Conn. | 94 |
| Susie Kirk, Philadelphia, Pa. | 94 |
| Allison Long, Coatesville, Pa. | 94 |
| Megan Grosky-McGowan, Blue Bell, Pa. | 96 |
| Jennifer Meyer, Morristown, N.J. | 97 |
| Anne Murphy, Bernardsville, N.J. | 98 |
| Kelly Campbell, New York, N.Y. | 100 |
| Karen Spano, Bedminster, N.J. | 101 |
| Christine Blessing, Moorestown, N.J. | 103 |
