Greenlief defends Virginia Am title on familiar turf
7/12/2018 | by AmateurGolf.com Staff
see also: Virginia Women's Amateur Championship, River Bend Club
Former Women's Mid-Am champ brought her usual steady game to Farmington Country Club, a venue she knew as a UVa golfer
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. (July 12, 2018) – The venue wasn’t her favorite even if the championship is shaping up to be. But for Lauren Greenlief, winning the Virginia Women’s Amateur on a course she used to call home while playing for the University of Virginia could quickly change her vibe on Farmington Country Club.
“When I played here in college, historically, I didn’t play Farmington very well,” she told the Virginia State Golf Association. “It gave me a really tough time. My short game wasn’t very good. I would say the front nine at Farmington, when I was at UVa, it was a great round if I shot 38.”
Greenlief, 27, survived a close final match with Amanda Hollandsworth to defend her title in the event. Hollandsworth gave Greenlief a good run on a stage with which she’s very familiar. This was her third time to the final match.
“She’s not going to make a lot of mistakes,” said Hollandsworth. “You have to beat her with birdies. I had a lot of opportunities, but a couple of them just didn’t roll. But I played well. That’s all I can really say, is that we both played well and it just worked out in her favor. Hopefully I’ll play in a couple more of these and get my opportunity eventually.”Greenlief and Hollandsworth traded the lead back and forth during the front nine as they combined for six birdies. Greenlief put her foot on the gas on the back nine and took her first 2-up advantage when Hollandsworth stumbled on No. 12 with a bogey. On 15, Hollandsworth topped her drive and hit her second shot into a backyard, and with Greenlief safely on the green in two, Hollandsworth conceded the hole. Hollandsworth answered with birdie on the next hole, but it was too little too late. Greenlief already had one hand closed around the title.
Greenlief has the distinction of being a USGA champion after winning the 2015 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur. Earlier this month, she qualified for the U.S. Women’s Amateur (the two-year exemption she got into that tournament for winning the Women’s Mid-Amateur ran out last year). Greenlief has qualified for the Women’s Amateur six times, but has yet to make match play.
Interestingly, Greenlief will compete in September for the Virginia Mid-Amateur Championship and will be the only female player in the field. She reasons that the course is close to home, and her game proves she can compete.“It’s near my house, it’s 6,300 yards and I play that golf course a bunch,” Greenlief said of Winchester (Va.) Country Club. “It’s a golf course where the men aren’t going to have an advantage over me. You have to hit it accurate and straight.
About the VSGA Women's Amateur
Match play tournament with 36-hole on-site stroke play qualifying. The low 16 qualifiers advance to match play. Open to female golfers of all ages. Participants must hold an active GHIN number issued by a licensed VSGA Member Club in good standing.
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