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Syracuse, N.Y. — The field of 70 competitors has dwindled down to 42 after the cut was made following round two action at the Women’s Amateur & Mid-Amateur Championship on Wednesday. The 24 Amateurs and 18 Mid-Amateurs will undergo 18 more holes of play on Thursday as they vie for the Oak Hill Cup & Lancy Smith Trophy, respectively.
Kristina Wong, of Binghamton C.C., turned in the best score of the day at even-par (71) to claim the top spot on the leaderboard with an overall score of 144. She avenged her bogey start on the 1st hole yesterday with a birdie-birdie start today on the consecutive par 5’s that begin at Drumlins East. “I birdied the 1st and 2nd holes so it was a better start than yesterday,” says Wong. “I thought I could get it going a little more but I did hit the ball better today.” She threw in her third birdie of the day on the long par-4 at the 5th hole for a colorful scorecard of 1-under-par 35 that included three birdies and two bogeys on the front nine.
Wong picked up where she left off on the back by nearly hitting a 45-foot putt for birdie on par-4 10th hole. “I hit my drive right down the middle and then I had about 180 yards left to go on my second shot. I had about a 45-foot putt for birdie which I almost hit but it just lipped out on me,” says Wong. Her lone bogey on the back nine came on the par-4 15th, which was the most difficult hole on the course according to the average at 5.22. “I hit it long and then I misjudged my chip because I didn’t hit it far enough which left me with a tough downhill putt,” says Wong. “I was okay with that bogey, but I just wanted to make a few more birdies by the end of my round but it didn’t work out.” Wong, who won the NYSGA Girl’s Amateur Championship in 2004 will contend for the Women’s Amateur title in the leading group tomorrow at 9:27 a.m.
Competing alongside Wong tomorrow will be defending Women’s Amateur champion Christy Schultz who is seeking her third straight title and 1st Mid-Amateur crown. The Rochester native posted a 3-over-par score of 74 to follow up her even-par total yesterday. Schultz was able to card three birdies, including one on the par-4 18th hole where she converted a birdie by holing out of the bunker that lies in front of the green. “It was like three-quarters of the way in the bunker and I had to carry it a long way because of the grassy space in between the green and the bunker,” says Schultz. By the time Schultz followed-through with her swing she raised her hand straight towards the sky with a closed fist; almost sure the ball would roll straight in after it carried the fringe. She continues to build off of her momentum from the day before as her birdie on 18 marks the second straight day she ended her round with a birdie. “I’m very pleased with my finish because I scrambled a bit on the back nine,” says Schultz.
The second-best round of the day came from Jillian Fraccola, of Cazenovia C.C., who finds her name in fifth place on the leaderboard following her round 1-over-par (72) today. Starting off the back nine, Fraccola began her day 2-over-par after three holes of play. However, Fraccola fired back-to-back birdies on 16 & 17 to turn in an even-par 35 on the back. Her best shot of the day came on the par-3 16th hole that plays downhill. Fraccola left herself just a two-foot putt for birdie after a perfect tee-shot. On the front, she played consistently on par except for a double bogey on the 7th and a birdie on the par-4 9th. “I hit a 5-wood to about 135 and then followed with my second shot landing about 35 feet to the pin where I made my putt for birdie,” says Fraccola.
Tuesday’s leader, Mary Carmody, of Elm Tree G.C. in Cortland, tallied a 6-over-par 77 to give her a two-day total of 147, three shots back of the leader Wong. “I had a good start with four straight pars and a good finish with par-birdie-par and that’s what I need to remember and take from this round,” says Carmody. “I had three three-putts on my round today and I had none yesterday so those are strokes I need to make up tomorrow.” Despite a bogey-double bogey finish as she made the turn, Carmody had an impressive finish to post a 2-over-par 38 on the front nine. “My dad just told me to finish strong and I’ll be in it so I turned it around and made a good par putt on the 7th and then stuck it close on the 8th for a nice birdie,” says Carmody.
The championship round will be continue on Thursday at 7:30 a.m. Please visit www.nysga.org for live scoring and pairing information for the championship round. Results from Day One & Two are attached.
Submitted by Kevin Solan
NYSGA Media Intern
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