Michelle Jarman (Carolina's Golf Association Photo)
Brand new this year was the Carolinas Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship, and Michelle Jarman of Wilmington, N.C. was crowned the first-ever champion. This inaugural championship at The Patriot at Grand Harbor in Ninety-Six, S.C. saw strong competition, making for an exciting two days of golf. Jarman shot 73-71 for a two-day total of even-par.
In Round One, Jarman played a consistent round, carding two birdies and three bogeys to finish at 1-over for the day.
“I hit my wedges really well and made some key putts and just really tried to have fun, so just a really great attitude,” Jarman said regarding what helped her succeed this week.
Heading into the Final Round, Jarman had the lead at 1-over, but the leaderboard was stacked with strong contenders. Jarman had a solid start to the Final Round as she birdied the first two holes. She was 1-over at the turn, tied with Courtney Stiles of Pinehurst, N.C., with nine holes to go. Jarman bogeyed hole No. 11 but birdied hole No. 14 to head into the final stretch, still neck and neck with Stiles, who was even on the back nine.
“I think I knew obviously how consistent she [Courtney] and Katie and Meghan all were, so I was just trying to play each shot. It sounds really simple, but that’s really what I tried to do. I birdied the first two holes, got off to a really great start, and then kind of gave a few back. But I really just tried to stay consistent and realize just how wonderful it was to be out here playing golf.”
Jarman was battling it out with Stiles all the way through the 18th hole of the Final Round. Jarman and Stiles were still tied at 1-over heading into the last hole on Thursday. Jarman gave herself an opportunity for birdie on the final hole and drained the birdie putt to put her at even par at the top of the leaderboard, securing her win of the 1st Carolinas Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship.
When asked how it felt to see that birdie putt on 18 drop, Jarman shared, “It felt really good. I had put this on my calendar once Maggie said it was coming, and it was really exciting for me. It’s really special to win a first championship of anything, and especially at the Mid-Am level.”
Regarding how excited she was to see a Mid-Am championship on the schedule, Jarman said “It’s so great. The investment in women’s golf that the CGA has always done is nice, and it’s nice to hit this new generation of us who are working but still really enjoy competing at a very high level.”
Jarman is the first champion of this tournament, making history in the CGA and the Carolinas Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship. Discussing the feeling of being an inaugural champion, Jarman explained, “It feels nice. I feel really grateful. This year I’ve really tried to make it a point to play more golf and enjoy the gift that I feel like I’ve been given. I played in college, and now I just realize how special it is to get to play.”
“It’s special. I probably haven’t won a golf tournament since college, so it’s nice to really see the fruit of working hard on my game. I’m really grateful for the opportunity.”
Stiles finished in second place after carding rounds of 74-71 for a two-day total of 1-over. Finishing in third place was Katie Flaskerud of Charlotte, N.C., with a two-day total of 3-over.
View results for Carolinas Women's Mid-Am
ABOUT THE Carolinas Women's Mid-Am
Introduced in 2023, this championship is contested
at 36 holes of stroke
play and is open to any female mid-aamateur golfer
who is a legal resident of North Carolina or
South Carolina
or meets the non-resident criteria as outlined in the
CGA Tournament Manual,
is a member in good standing of a club which is a
member of the Carolinas
Golf Association (CGA) and has an active GHIN®
USGA Handicap Index® at a
CGA member club.
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