by Jennifer Hawkins, special to Golf News Net
Defending champion Lara Tennant is through to the quarterfinals of the 2021 US Senior Women's Am, as she notched two wins on Monday -- in the Round of 32 and the Round of 16 -- as match play continued at The Lakewood Club in Fairhope, Ala.
In the Round of 32, Tennant needed 19 holes to dispatch Canadian Judith Kyrinis. Tennant made just two birdies, one on the front, one on the back to close out the match.
Tennant defeated Kelley Nittoli of San Antonio, Texas, 2 and 1. Nittoli birdied the 16th hole to close the gap to 2 down with two to play and stuffed her tee shot on the par-3 17th to 6 feet but couldn’t convert the birdie to stay alive.
Kathy Hartwiger of Birmingham, who led after Day 1 of 36-hole stroke-play qualifying, moved easily through the to the quarterfinals. Hartwiger needed 20 holes in her Round of 16 match, making par on the 20th hole to defeat Adreienne MacLean.
Tama Caldabaugh and Therese Quinn, both from the Jacksonville, Fla., area won their Round of 32 matches: Caldabaugh by a 3-and-2 margin over Shelly Haywood and Quinn 5-and-4 against Martha Leach. Caldabaugh would lose in the Round of 16, however, by a 7-and-5 count to Susan Cohn, who qualified fourth.
The Round of 32 match of the day occurred between Patricia Ehrhart of Birmingham, Ala, and Jayne Pardus of Charleston, S.C. Pardue birdied the 18th to square the match to send it to extra holes. Neither player was ready to give. It took an additional seven holes -- with the Round of 16 well underway -- for Ehrhart to close out the match with a par.
Monday play was suspended due to darkness with two Round of 16 matches still on the course, and play resumed at 7:30 a.m.
The players will again face back-to-back matches on Tuesday to narrow the field to the final match on Wednesday.
