Priscilla Harding (Tennessee Golf Association Photo)

“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them” – Walt Disney

As Priscilla Harding clutched the trophy presented for winning the 9th Tennessee Women’s Mid-Amateur championship on Wednesday afternoon, it represented the perfect intersection of all of her life experiences.

It was the culmination of a lifetime of investment made by her father, years of shared experiences enjoyed with her golfing sisters, and the validation that dreams do indeed come true.

Harding, a recent Nashville transplant, posted consecutive even-par rounds to shoot a two-day total of 142, besting Clarksville’s Caroline Ludwikowski by two shots for her first tournament win since her high school days in Michigan.

Other champions crowned at Franklin Bridge Golf Club were Loudon’s Sue Miller, who won her second Tennessee Women’s Senior Amateur title by four shots over Nashville’s Helen Holland, while Gena Ridings defended her Super Senior championship by edging fellow Franklin resident Janice Sauter by a single stroke.

Despite growing up in a family of golf royalty in South Lyon, Mich., Harding always had a different romanticized vision for her future.

Her father, Tom, is an inductee of the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame. He is a widely-respected PGA instructor, having lettered three years at Michigan State University and winner of the 1991 Canadian PGA Championship.

Harding, too, played collegiately for the Spartans, joining her older sister, Caroline, and younger sister, Elizabeth, on the roster during the 2018-19 season. Caroline is now an assistant golf professional at iconic Oakland Hills Country Club, while Elizabeth tried her luck at Q-school last year and is still pursuing aspirations as a professional golfer.

There was quite the golfing legacy for the Harding girls to follow, further entrenched by the fact their mom, Joal, played college golf at Auburn University and competed for several years on the LPGA Tour. Even their grandmother had her own pedigree as a skilled golfer, as Tom’s mother won her club’s championship in Kalamazoo multiple times.  

But from her earliest days, Disney – not golf – became Priscilla Harding’s fixation. So, when it came time to choose a career path, she headed south to Orlando where she worked at Disney World for the past two years.

“I never thought about going pro,” Harding said. “Disney was always my dream. The joke in my family is that I’m the social golfer in the bunch.”

After moving to Nashville earlier in the year as a sales representative for Whirlpool, Harding played her first competitive round in over four years at the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur qualifier at Tennessee Grasslands last month. After failing to qualify, she was disappointed that all of her work had fallen short. So, she called her father – and coach – to figure out her next move.

“I was talking to my dad that night and he said, ‘Maybe there's another tournament you can sign up for.’ We found the state mid-am was at Franklin Bridge where I had played before, so I signed up,” Harding said. “I had worked so hard this summer and I wanted to keep it going, to have something else to look forward to.”

After her opening round 71 on Tuesday, Harding found herself atop the leaderboard owning a two-shot advantage over Ludwikowski, who claimed one of the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur qualifying spots Harding had hoped for back in August. While pleased with her play, Harding found herself in an unfamiliar position leading into Wednesday’s final round.

“It had been so long since I’ve contended in any tournament that I played in,” Harding said. “I made it to the Elite Eight in the Michigan amateur in 2015, but I've not had a two-shot lead going into the final round in forever. So, I was literally on YouTube last night watching videos of Scottie Scheffler’s interview after the third round of the Masters to understand how they mentally handle this. And then I watched an eight-minute video of Tiger Woods explaining his mental game and what he's thinking.”

Harding’s crash course in confidence paid dividends by making a birdie on her opening hole after beginning her round on No. 18. Two more birdies on holes 5 and 7 kept her cushion at three shots over Ludwikowski, and another birdie at 10 increased her margin to four.

Ludwikowski was able to trim her deficit to two shots after Harding recorded her third consecutive bogey on 14. Missed birdie tries on 15 and 16 could have brought Ludwikowski even closer, but Harding was able to recompose herself down the stretch.

“Heading to the last hole, I closed my eyes and told myself ‘You're strong, you're capable, and you can do this,’” Harding said. “I had to calm myself down and be present, because I was leaking oil there. I was determined to not give it away, because I had come too far.”

After her win, Harding immediately thought of her father and her sisters, sending them pictures so they could share in the celebration.

“I have never won something like this ever before in my life,” Harding said. “I'm glad I have a trophy, because they both have a ton of trophies. Even when I played in the junior tour, they got flags for first, second, and third place and I never even got a flag. I got my trophy from the Elite Eight in 2015 and then that was it. So, I definitely sent them some pictures of me holding this trophy.”

Ludwikowski had a solid round of even-par 71 to close at 2-over 144 to finish two strokes behind Harding, and Knoxville’s Teleri Hughes – the 2017 champion in this event – finished third with a total of 9-over 151.

Miller holds on to win Women’s Senior Amateur

Sue Miller entered Wednesday’s final round of the 46th Tennessee Women’s Senior Amateur owning a six-shot advantage. But last year’s event taught the veteran golfer that no lead is completely safe.

Miller missed out on a playoff in the 2023 championship when she saw a five-shot lead disappear over her final six holes. A rough start to Miller’s final round on Wednesday allowed Helen Holland to trim the margin down to two after only four holes, but she was determined the outcome would be different this time around.

“I was a little nervous at the start because I knew I had a fairly decent lead,” Miller said. “Then I was 3-over after the first four holes, so I was getting more uneasy. But then I calmed down and started playing more consistently. I'm certainly pleased with the outcome.”

With a birdie on No. 7, Miller covered the next nine holes after her early stumble in 1-under to not allow Holland any opportunity to get within three shots. A final birdie at 17 led to a final round of 73, finishing at 2-over 144.

Holland shot even-par 71 on her round to finish as runner-up with a total of 6-over 148. Julie Carlton of Hermitage was third at 8-over 150, two shots in front of College Grove’s Kerry Arendsee who posted a 10-over 152.

Miller’s win is her second in tournament history, having won in 2018 at The Course at Sewanee.

Ridings defends Super Senior title

Gena Ridings’s victory in winning her second straight Tennessee Women’s Super Senior Amateur was somewhat bittersweet. While appreciative for the win, it came at the expense of her close friend and fellow Vanderbilt Legends Club member Janice Sauter.

Ridings entered the day with a three-shot advantage over Sauter, but she found herself trailing by a pair of strokes eight holes into Wednesday’s final round.

Starting their round on No. 9, Sauter birdied the opening hole to cover her first nine holes in 1-under. Meanwhile, Ridings was 4-over during that same stretch of holes.

But a three-shot swing on No. 18 where Ridings had a birdie and Sauter double bogeyed gave Ridings a one-stroke advantage that held steady until Sauter again pulled even with a birdie on No. 3.

Both golfers were at 8-over with two holes remaining, but an unfortunate triple bogey by Sauter at No. 7 gave Ridings a two-shot lead after she bogeyed the hole. A birdie on the final hole from 15-feet brought Sauter back within one, but Ridings sealed the outcome with a clutch two-footer for par.

“This was a good one to win,” Ridings said. “We were neck-and-neck the whole day, riding in the same cart, fighting our way around the golf course. It was a lot of fun.”

Ridings attributes her turnaround to her slow start to the birdie on the island green par-4 18th hole.

“That was big for me,” Ridings said. “I made up three strokes right there. That’s a tough hole with the carry over water, but I told myself I didn’t come here to lay up.”

The friendship with Sauter is the latest in the chapter of numerous competitions between the golfers.

“We’re always going back and forth on club championships, and we know each other’s games really well,” Ridings said. “Janice is a really good player and she’s going to push you to the limit. But today, I was able to be just a little bit better.”

Ridings’ total of 9-over 151 following her final round 76 was one better than Sauter’s 10-over 152. Suzanne Rhodes of Crossville finished third with a two-day aggregate of 20-over 162.