Jacqueline Setas (USGA Photo)
The wind took an already challenging Brae Burn Country Club course in West Newton, Mass., and made it even trickier on Sunday for Round 2 of the 37th U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur. After Round 1 action that saw only one player, Alexandra Austin, card an under-par round, day two averaged a score of 82.65, more than ten strokes above par and 2.5 strokes harder than Saturday.
But it was 26-year-old Sabrina Coffman, of Toledo, Ohio, and 28-year-old Jacqueline Setas, of East Lansing, Mich., who rose to the top, tying for medalist honors at 3-over par. For Setas, the week has already been an impactful one.
“I’m really proud [to be medalist],” said Setas. “I kind of had a special perspective coming into this week. Seven years ago on Friday, I was getting a second opinion at Dana Farber [Cancer Institute, just eight miles down the road]. I haven’t been back [to Boston] since that. Even when I was getting bad breaks out there, it really wasn’t that bad for me. I am just happy to be here.”
Setas was eventually diagnosed with Stage II Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, and in 2017 went through six months of chemotherapy and 15 consecutive days of radiation. She was deemed cancer-free in 2018. The Michigan State University alum made her championship debut in 2021 and has made match play in each of her four appearances.
For Coffman, the strong play is a nice rebound from last year, when she missed the cut in her championship debut at Stonewall Links in Elverson, Pa. She works as an application engineer for GenomOncology, a software company that does cancer reporting, but the full-time job doesn’t seem to have slowed her down.
“It’s kind of funny, I think last year I felt better going into [the championship] because I had just come off a college season and I still had a lot of time to practice versus now I’m in a full-time job and getting out to practice and play can be a privilege,” said Coffman, who shot rounds of 75-72, and had the low round of even par on Sunday.
Of the ten 25-year-olds in the field, four of them were able to make the 64-player cut in their maiden voyage. One of them, Hana Ryskova, of Czechia, put together back-to-back rounds of 75 to sit in the top 10 after round two. Ryskova, who played her college golf at Louisville, obtaining a bachelor’s degree in marketing in 2023 and an MBA earlier this year, is playing in her first USGA championship.
“I didn’t grow up playing in any [USGA events], and then over the summer I always went back home [to Czechia.] It feels great. I have my boyfriend on the bag, which is kind of a dream come true. It’s a great event put on by the USGA. Back home, mid-amateurs are not that important, but here I feel like it doesn’t matter if it’s the U.S. Amateur or the Mid-Amateur, I’ve been treated very well by everyone.”
Ryskova has appeared before on the international stage, playing for the Czech Republic in the 2014 and 2018 Women’s World Amateur Team Championships. She had a decorated junior career in the Czech Republic, winning the Czech International Junior Championship, as well as the Czech International Women's Championship and Polish International Women's Championship.
“I haven’t played competitively for the past three months; I’ve been just working,” said Ryskova, who this summer had an internship in account service and strategy with Ad Cucina, an agency in Louisville. “I’m just enjoying it honestly. I’m out of grad school literally a couple weeks so I’m just having fun with the game again.”
Also earning themselves top 10 seeds are 60-year-old Judith Kyrinis and 54-year-old Shelly Stouffer, who are two of the ten oldest players in the field. Stouffer, who won the 2022 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, put together rounds of 73-77 to finish stroke play at 6-over par, good enough for T6.
“I made two birdies out there which was fun because I don’t think there are very many birdies out there,” said Stouffer, who won the Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur in July, her second time taking home the title. “I don’t think anyone else in my group made a birdie today.”
In fact, Sunday saw just 129 birdies from the 132-player field.
What’s Next
- A 4-for-1 playoff will begin at 7:30 a.m. ET. The Round of 64 will begin at 8:30 a.m. The championship is open to the public and spectators are encouraged to attend.
Notable
- Round 1 leader Alexandra Austin, of Fairfax, Va., who is six months pregnant, followed up her opening-round 70 with a 6-over 78. She finished stroke play T3.
- Five USGA champions finished in the top 10 of stroke play: Judith Kyrinis (2017 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur), Shelly Stouffer (2022 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur), Julia Potter-Bobb (2013 and 2016 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateurs), Lauren Greenlief (2016 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur) and Kimberly Dinh (2023 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur).
- Of the five players from Massachusetts in the field, two advanced to match play: 2018 champion Shannon Johnson and Megan Buck, both from North Easton.
- Three-time champion Sarah LeBrun Ingram is on the bag for 25-year-old Valeria Mendizabal, of Guatemala. Mendizabal, a former Mississippi State golfer, is making her championship debut. She shot rounds of 82-78 in stroke play to finish T48.
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ABOUT THE
U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur
The U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur originated in
1987 to provide a national competitive arena
for amateurs 25 and older. Besides the age
restriction, the event is open to those with a
USGA Handicap Index of 9.4 or lower. It is
one of 14 national championships conducted
annually by the USGA, 10 of which are strictly
for amateurs.
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