No Excuses As Stouffer Falls In Final Of U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Championship
By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf
SEATTLE, WA (September 26, 2024) — Shelly Stouffer found herself in an unfamiliar position in the final of the 62nd U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Championship at Broadmoor Golf Club.
After playing with the lead all week, Stouffer was forced to play catch-up for most of her match with Australian Nadene Gole.
Stouffer had emerged earlier in the week as the stroke-play medalist and then played like the No. 1 seed as she breezed through her first five matches. The Nanoose Bay resident seemed to have momentum on her side heading into the final, but simply could not find any of it in the final before losing 3&2.
Gole took the lead on the second hole and the Melbourne native never trailed in the match. Stouffer, who won this championship in 2022, was chasing the match all day and made no excuses, saying she was simply outplayed by Gole.
“I missed some putts and she was the better player today,” Stouffer said. “She made some long putts and had great pace on the greens. Somebody has to be the loser today.”
Stouffer insisted she will head back home to Vancouver Island with her head held high. “It was a great week,” she said. “It is awesome to just get into the finals. I am very proud of myself. I am not really disappointed. How can you be disappointed? I gave it my best effort and it wasn’t good enough today.”
Stouffer’s game was simply not as sharp in the championship final as it had been earlier in the week. Her iron play, particularly on the front nine, was not sharp. She was consistently outdriving Gole by 15 or 20 yards but could not take advantage with her approach shots.
Her worst shot of the day came on the par 3 seventh hole, where she semi-shanked her tee shot. The ensuing bogey left her 2-down. But Stouffer hit a brilliant iron shot on the par 4 ninth to set up her only birdie of the day and she was one-down at the turn.
She got unlucky on the par 4 10th when her approach bounced off the pin, but she proceeded to drain a 30-foot putt to win that hole and pull even. For the first time all day, Stouffer seemed to have momentum on her side. “That kind of got me going,” Stouffer said. Unfortunately, that momentum was short-lived.
Gole birdied No. 12 to re-take the lead and then won the 14th and 15th holes to go 3-up. The players shook hands on the 16th green when Stouffer failed to make her par. The 55-year-old Gole won her first USGA title in just her second appearance. “It’s amazing, it really is,” Gole said. “It will probably not sink in for a while. I’m happy to be taking it back to Australia.”
Stouffer acknowledged that after playing with the lead all week, it felt different and definitely a lot more stressful chasing from behind. “I tried not to think about it,” she said. “I pushed a little bit more, but I was still trying to swing within myself.”
Stouffer had her own cheering section at Broadmoor, which included her 84-year-old mother, Susanna Comadina, and her sister Sandra Comadina. Fellow competitor Kathy Hartwiger, who Stouffer beat in the quarter-finals, caddied for Stouffer in the championship match.
Stouffer is delighted to earn some of the perks that come with making it to the championship final. One of those perks is a spot in next year’s U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship, which is being played at Bandon Dunes on the southern Oregon coast. “I really wanted to play Bandon Dunes next year and now I am, so that’s great,” she said.
“Then I get an exemption into the US Women’s Open and I also get a U.S. Mid-Am exemption, too, So you know, next year is going to be pretty sweet.”
Despite the disappointing ending, Stouffer feels good about her year. She won her fifth straight B.C. Senior Women’s Championship, won the Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur and finished third at the Canadian Senior Women’s.
She likes to think she will get another crack at winning her second U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur. “That’s one win and one loss,” Stouffer said. “It would have been nice to win this one, but she was good today. It was a good week. I can’t complain, honestly. It’s just a golf tournament. Obviously I care, but I didn’t win, so let’s move on. . .Darn it, better luck next year.”
Click HERE for USGA Sr. Women's Amateur scoring.