Kuehn Redeems at Carolinas Women's Amateur

Rachel Kuehn of Asheville, N.C.

WILMINGTON, N.C. (June 4, 2017) -- Final results of the 91st Carolinas Women's Amateur Championship at Porters Neck Country Club in Wilmington, N.C. on Sunday, June 4th (6,067 yards, Par 36-36--72, Course Rating 75.3/137).

Related: Championship Web Site | Scoring | History | Photos

Brenda Corrie Kuehn won her second Carolinas Women's Amateur Championship in 2001 while eight months pregnant with her daughter, Rachel Kuehn. Sunday, six days before her 16th birthday, Rachel followed in her mother's footsteps, shooting the tournament low of three-under 69 en route to her first CGA victory. Overall, she finished the three-day championship at Porters Neck Country Club in Wilmington, N.C. at one-over par 217, one shot ahead of four players.

Last month, Rachel Kuehn led in the final round of the Vicki DiSantis Junior Girls' Championship, but fell short of victory. Facing a four-shot deficit heading into the final round Sunday, her mentality was to not worry about how she would finish, but to have fun. "Today, it was less focusing on the score and what position I was going to finish in, just focusing on how well I was playing," said Kuehn.

On Sunday's final nine holes, Kuehn emerged from a pack of nine golfers within two shots of the lead. A 40-foot putt on the par-3 11th notched one of five birdies. Her most notable birdie came on her last hole, the par-5 17th, where she faced a 15-foot downhill left-to-right putt. That type of putt has been Kuehn's recent nemesis, but she rolled this one in, ultimately giving her the victory.

Kuehn, a rising junior in high school, defeated several collegiate golfers in the field and will use that gained experience as she prepares for future tournaments. "It gives me a little confidence going into the summer. It is a pretty important summer, to get ready before the summer I go off to college."

With another trophy added in the Kuehn household, Rachel is humble about beating her mentor - her mom - who finished T13 while capturing low Senior honors in the Championship Division.  "I can't really talk because she has won two of these; she has me in that. I was glad she played well, so I was excited for her." 

Mary Chandler Bryan of Chapin, S.C. started the final round tied for first, but a 74 dropped into a four-way tie for second at two-over par, 218 overall. Despite her narrow defeat, she was grateful for the chance to play competitively again. "I thought the experience was great," said Bryan. "This was my first tournament in a while. To get the competitive juices flowing again was fun."

Kayla Thompson of Whiteville, N.C. also tied for second at two-over par 218. She started off her final round "tricky," bogeying her first two holes. However, she responded by making birdies on No. 4 and No. 5. Then, after making the turn, she had another mini birdie barrage. On No. 11, facing 130-yards to the flag, she hit a wedge shot to set up an eight-foot birdie putt. The following hole, No. 12, she again faced 130-yards. With the wind in her face, she used a 9-iron to drop the ball next to the hole. A double bogey on the par-5 17th derailed her chances to win. Thompson will use this championship as a building-block heading into her senior season at UNC-Wilmington. "It was a solid tournament. I had two bad holes this week. There was a lot of consistency there which I'm going to build on."

Also tying for second were rising College of Charleston sophomore Victoria Huskey of Greenville, S.C. and Furman University rising senior Reona Hirai of Summerville, S.C

Defending champion Ashley Sloup of Southport, N.C. finished T6 at three-over 219.

The Overall Champion and Championship Division Runner-up automatically qualify for the 2017 Carolinas Team that will compete in the Carolinas-Virginias Women's Team Matches on July 17-19, 2017 at Spring Creek Golf Club in Gordonsville, VA.

The championship is conducted at 54 holes of stroke play (no cut). All players, regardless of Handicap Index, have the option to play in the Championship Division or the Carolinas Division. The Overall Champion will be determined from the contestants playing in the Championship Division. Awards will also be given for the low senior in the Championship and Carolinas divisions (age 50-64), the low Super Senior in the Carolinas Division (ages 65 and older), and the medalist in the Championship Division (low score after 36 holes). A tie for Overall Champion is determined by an on-course playoff. Low senior and low super-senior awards will be split. A tie for medalist after 36 holes will be split. All other ties for merchandise will be broken by scorecard playoff.

Entry is open to any female amateur golfer who has reached her 13th birthday by the first day of the championship, is a legal resident of North Carolina or South Carolina, is a member in good standing of a club which is a member of the Carolinas Golf Association and has an active USGA Handicap Index at a CGA member club that does not exceed 40.4.

The CGA would like to thank the members and staff of the Porter Neck Country Club for hosting the Carolinas Women's Amateur. Special gratitude is extended to head golf professional Robert Loper and golf course superintendent Doug Lewis.

 

91st Carolinas Women's Amateur Championship
Porters Neck Country Club, Wilmington, N.C.
Final Results

Championship - First Flight

1   Rachel Kuehn, Asheville, N.C. - 74-74-69--217

T2   Kayla Thompson, Whiteville, N.C. - 74-71-73--218

T2   Mary Chandler Bryan, Chapin, S.C. - 72-72-74--218

T2   Reona Hirai, Summerville, S.C. - 73-73-72--218

T2   Victoria Huskey, Greenville, S.C. - 73-73-72--218

T6   Ashley Sloup, Southport, N.C. - 71-74-74--219

T6   Katherine Schuster, Kill Devil Hills, N.C. - 73-73-73--219

T6   Kathryn Carson, Mooresville, N.C. - 72-74-73--219

9   Courtney McKim, Raleigh, N.C. - 75-71-75--221

10   Sarah Bertram, Concord, N.C. - 70-74-78--222

11   Gracyn Burgess, Lexington, S.C. - 73-78-73--224

12   Roshnee Sharma, Waxhaw, N.C. - 76-74-78--228

T13   Brenda Corrie Kuehn, Asheville, N.C. - 77-73-79--229

T13   Katie Kirk, Winterville, N.C. - 75-75-79--229

15   Savanna Wood, Boone, N.C. - 72-77-82--231

Championship - Second Flight

1   Abbey Hartsell, Hickory, N.C. - 76-76-72--224

2   Hannah Craver, Winston Salem, N.C. - 74-78-75--227

3   Mary-Katelyn Holanek, Cary, N.C. - 78-76-74--228

T4   Emily Stinson, Charlotte, N.C. - 77-77-75--229

T4   Payton Culler, Hendersonville, N.C. - 79-76-74--229

6   Janie Thomas, Winston-Salem, N.C. - 78-77-76--231

T7   Caroline Cahill, Wilmington, N.C. - 79-78-75--232

T7   Mary Katherine Donovan, Hampstead, N.C. - 74-79-79--232

T9   Elizabeth Nguyen, Pinehurst, N.C. - 78-79-77--234

T9   Grace Yatawara, Salisbury, N.C. - 76-77-81--234

11   Kate Collom, Charlotte, N.C. - 78-80-77--235

T12   Morgan Laird, Waxhaw, N.C. - 78-78-80--236

T12   Rachel Wyatt, Johns Island, S.C. - 74-84-78--236

14   Ana Tsiros, Asheville, N.C. - 79-74-86--239

Championship - Third Flight

1   Lea Venable, Simpsonville, S.C. - 78-84-75--237

2   Mallory Fobes, East Bend, N.C. - 80-84-75--239

3   Michelle Jarman, Wilmington, N.C. - 83-84-73--240

4   Kim Briele, New Bern, N.C. - 83-79-79--241

T5   Alaina Yeatts, Durham, N.C. - 83-80-80--243

T5   Alexis Sudjianto, Charlotte, N.C. - 87-79-77--243

7   Jayla Rogers, Wilmington, N.C. - 83-81-80--244

8   Kate Matthews, Greenville, S.C. - 87-81-81--249

9   Channing Hensley, Wake Forest, N.C. - 80-90-82--252

10   Kadi Hilpus Meldrum, Aiken, S.C. - 84-85-84--253

11   Susan Beaupied, Pittsboro, N.C. - 84-88-82--254

12   Carson Stewart Jenkins, Raleigh, N.C. - 91-98-84--273

13   Christina Stritzinger, Charlotte, N.C. - 89-96-89--274

Carolinas - First Flight

1   Patty Moore, Charlotte, N.C. - 74-77-72--223

T2   Carole Jones, Hillsborough, N.C. - 78-82-78--238

T2   June Wang, Huntersville, N.C. - 78-80-80--238

T2   Terrie Allemang, Hilton Head, S.C. - 82-79-77--238

5   Natalie Huff, Elgin, S.C. - 80-81-78--239

6   Kendra Muir, Pinehurst, N.C. - 82-77-83--242

T7   Julie Shore, Raleigh, N.C. - 81-82-80--243

T7   Lida Tingley, Wilmington, N.C. - 86-80-77--243

T7   Mona Jackson, Wilmington, N.C. - 79-79-85--243

10   Kristina Blaylock, Cary, N.C. - 87-75-83--245

11   Pam Congelosi, Vass, N.C. - 83-85-80--248

12   Kelly Whitley, Greensboro, N.C. - 88-81-90--259

Carolinas - Second Flight

1   Peggy Cahill, Wilmington, N.C. - 84-86-83--253

2   Barbara Munnett, Winston Salem, N.C. - 83-85-87--255

3   Katherine DeVore, High Point, N.C. - 87-85-84--256

4   Carole Stone, Blythewood, S.C. - 83-87-87--257

5   Brenda Frye, Mt Pleasant, S.C. - 84-87-88--259

6   Bernice Slezak, Mt. Pleasant, S.C. - 83-90-89--262

7   Kyoko Tsuchiya, Mt Pleasant, S.C. - 87-94-84--265

8   Clate Aydlett, Elizabeth City, N.C. - 86-93-89--268

9   Susan Harden, Beaufort, S.C. - 87-93-90--270

10   Karin Wu, Belmont , N.C. - 88-96-89--273

T11   Karren Peterson, Simpsonville, S.C. - 93-91-92--276

T11   Mo Spada, Sunset Beach, N.C. - 91-90-95--276

13   Lib Kelly-smith, Vass, N.C. - 96-93-93--282

Carolinas - Third Flight

1   Lily Lee, Chapel Hill, N.C. - 84-79-87--250

2   Janet Myers, Charlotte, N.C. - 85-82-88--255

3   Cindy Runnette, Simpsonville, S.C. - 84-90-84--258

T4   Mary Rhodes, Greensboro, N.C. - 86-87-88--261

T4   Vicki DiSantis, Pinehurst, N.C. - 91-86-84--261

6   Libby Neil, Wilmington , N.C. - 90-91-84--265

T7   Jean Burns, Irmo, S.C. - 91-91-88--270

T7   Teddy Stockwell, Charleston, S.C. - 91-95-84--270

9   Laura Rawl, Charleston, S.C. - 90-89-93--272

10   Dollie Watson, Lexington, N.C. - 97-97-93--287

11   Linda Arnaud, Kernersville, N.C. - 97-98-97--292

12   KC Sorvari, Aberdeen, N.C. - 106-110-107--323

 

About the Carolinas Golf Association (CGA)

The CGA is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit educational organization that was founded in 1909 to promote and to protect the game of golf in the Carolinas by providing competitions, education, support and benefits to golf clubs and golfers. The CGA is the second largest golf association in the country with over 700 member clubs represented by nearly 150,000 individuals.

The CGA annually conducts 48 championships and five team match competitions for men, women, juniors, and seniors. It also runs over 150 One-Day (net and gross) events as well as qualifying for USGA national championships. The CGA serves golf in the Carolinas with numerous programs such as: the USGA Handicap System; tournament management software and support; course measuring and course/slope ratings; agronomy consultation; answers about the Rules of Golf, Rules of Amateur Status, and Handicapping; Carolinas Golf Magazine; Interclub series; Tarheel Youth Golf Association; Carolinas Golf Hall of Fame; expense assistance for USGA Junior and Girls' Junior qualifiers from the Carolinas; and the Carolinas Golf Foundation (CGF). The CGF has distributed nearly $2,000,000 since 1977 to benefit Carolinas' golf initiatives including junior and women's programs.    

For more information about the CGA, visit our website.
 

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