Dean and Pilot Advance to Finals at MGA Women's Senior Match Play

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 MONTICELLO, Minn. – In search of her first win at the Minnesota Golf Association Women’s Senior Amateur Match Play Championship, Claudia Pilot defeated Barb Miller, 1-up, Saturday at Monticello Country Club to reach the final match for the first time since 2013.
 
Pilot fell behind early during her semifinal match with Miller after Miller’s birdie at the first and a bogey by Pilot at the fourth. A birdie at the par-4 sixth cut into Miller’s lead and Pilot would win the ninth with a par to tie the match heading to the final nine holes Saturday.
 
A bogey for Pilot at the par-3 14^th put the three-time MGA Senior Women’s Player of the Year down by one, but she would win the 15^th and 16^th holes with a pair of pars and hung on for the victory, 1-up.
 
Pilot, who reached the finals of the 2013 championship at The Jewel, eventually falling to six-time champion Leigh Klasse, will now face Christine Dean in the championship match Sunday.
 
Dean squared off against Cathy White during Saturday’s semifinal round, and would take a 2-up lead following back-to-back double-bogeys by White at the fourth and fifth holes. White fought back with a win at the 10^th, but a birdie by Dean at the 13^th sparked a late rally to close out the match and a spot in the championship at the 15^th hole, 4 and 3.
 
Tee times for the final round of the 2021 MGA Women’s Senior Amateur Championship begin at 12:30 p.m. Sunday at Monticello Country Club.