Anita Wicks Rebounds To Capture PNGA Senior Women’s Amateur, BC's Laschuk 2nd
Anita Wicks (L) And Mary Ryan (R) Are The Senior & Super Senior PNGA Women's Amateur Champions For 2016 - Image Courtesy PNGA
Anita Wicks of Roseburg, Ore. shot a 2-over par 74 in the final round to come from behind first round leader Phyllis Laschuk of Vancouver, B.C. and win the 30th Pacific Northwest Senior Women’s Amateur; while Mary Ryan of Renton, Wash. put together another solid round in winning the 5th Pacific Northwest Super Senior Women’s Amateur.
Both championships were held concurrently at Arrowhead Golf Club in Molalla, Ore. and were contested over 36 holes of stroke play. They were conducted by the Pacific Northwest Golf Association (PNGA).
In the Senior Women’s Amateur, Wicks started the day three shots behind Laschuk with the two players paired together for the final round and when Wicks made back-to-back birdies on holes eight and nine she was able to get back in the hunt.
Standing on the tee of the par-5 18th, the two players were tied for the lead, and when Laschuk bogeyed the closing hole, Wicks had the one-shot victory and the title.
“Those birdies on eight and nine really helped,” Wicks said afterward. “I felt pretty good going into the back nine, that I could play it well. When it started to rain a little bit on about the 14th hole, I just told myself to stay patient and play my game and not worry about anything else.”
After playing a lot of tournament golf this summer, Wicks said about the win, “This feels super great. I can’t believe I won a PNGA championship. It’s been a long time since I even thought I had a chance. I came close last year, and I just said I’ll just play my best this year and see what happens.”
Last year, Wicks finished co-runner-up in the championship, losing in a four-hole playoff.
For more information, including final hole-by-hole scoring, for the Senior Women’s Amateur Championship, click here. For more on the Super Senior Women’s, click here.
In the Super Senior Women’s Amateur, Ryan, the first round leader, backed up her solid play with another impressive round. She birdied the par-5 opening hole, as if to announce her clear intentions on what was going to happen, and then played well enough the rest of the way to hold off her pursuers.
“Well, it seemed my chief opponent today was Diane Law (of Kenmore, Wash.),” Ryan said afterward, with the two being paired together in today’s final round. “She played so good and putts so good, I wasn’t sure I could win this. But I kept getting the ball into the hole (laugh). My short game is not so good, but I played my irons well today, and that made a big difference. I love the sound of the ball coming off my irons, it makes me think I’m really good until I start putting!”
Of her win, Ryan said, “You have to understand that I’ve only been playing golf for 14 years. And this really feels great. I’m starting to have real appreciation for it.”
Last month Ryan won (with partner Sun Douthit) the Pacific Northwest Women’s Super Senior Team Championship.
To be eligible, competitors in the Senior Women’s Amateur must be 50 years of age or older by the first day of competition, while Super Senior competitors must be 65 years of age or older.