Luther and Peterson Share Medalist Honors, Qualify for U.S. Senior Women's Amateur

  WEST ST. PAUL, Minn. – A birdie on her final hole Tuesday helped Andrea Luther to a round of 6-over 77 to earn a share of medalist honors with Adele Peterson to secure a spot in the 2025 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Championship.

Luther and Peterson will travel to Hot Springs, Va., Sept. 13-18 to compete at this year’s national championship at the Cascades Course at The Omni Homestead Resort.

“I’m super excited; I love going to any USGA event,” Luther said after qualifying for her third championship over the past four seasons. “My expectations are to go and enjoy myself, and when I do that, my game has a better chance of being a little better.

“I was staying patient today—I just appreciate coming out and playing. I played okay today—I made a few more bogeys than I wanted. It felt like I was out of it because I didn’t really know where I was. I thought maybe I’d need an eagle [on No. 18].

Playing her first six holes in 1-over Tuesday, Luther rolled in her first birdie of the round at the par-4 seventh to draw even before a bogey-double finish to her front nine put her at 3-over.

A trio of bogeys over her first seven holes of the inward nine moved Luther to 6-over before a three-putt bogey at the 17th, but she would finish on a high note by sinking her 4-footer on the final hole for her second birdie of the round and finish in a share of first at 6-over 77.

“I thought I made my eagle putt,” Luther said of her finish on the final hole Tuesday. “I felt like I hit the putt like I wanted to, but I still had to make a little bit of a knee-knocker.

“I try not to have expectations coming in, even though I still do. I think I can make it, but always feel like I grind a little harder than I should. There are also some good players out here, and with one round, you never know.”

Similar to Tuesday’s finish, Luther carded a pair of late birdies last season at Minneapolis Golf Club to qualify for her second U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, where she posted rounds of 81 and 83, respectively, to miss the cut for match play at The Broadmoor Golf Club in Washington.

Luther qualified for her first U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur in 2022 played at Anchorage Golf Club in Alaska.

Peterson turned in 2-over par Tuesday, helped by a birdie from 12 feet at the par-5 fourth.

Bogeys on three of her first five holes of the back nine dropped Peterson to 5-over for the round, but she would make par at three of her final four holes to join Luther in the clubhouse with a share of the lead after her 6-over 77.

“I hit the ball okay and missed a couple of short putts early on, so that was a little frustrating,” Peterson said Tuesday. “I was happy that I didn’t make any double-bogeys—I really haven’t been playing that much.

“USGA events are always so much fun and I’m really going to have to start working on my game.”

Peterson qualifies for her second U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, previously advancing to the match play portion of the 2021 championship at The Lakewood Club in Point Clear, Ala., shooting 76-84 during stroke play.

Leigh Klasse, a 13-time qualifier of the championship, is exempt into the 2025 championship as she is ranked inside the top-30 of the World Amateur Golf Rankings for players 50 and over as of July 2.

The Homestead Resort hosts its first USGA championship since the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur in 2009, won by Sherry Herman.

This year’s national event will be the course’s eighth USGA Championship contested, previously hosting the U.S. Women’s Amateur (1928, 1994), Curtis Cup (1966), U.S. Women’s Open (1967), U.S. Senior Amateur (1980), U.S. Amateur (1988), U.S. Mid-Amateur (2000) and U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur (2009).

Opened in 1923, the William Flynn design, where Sam Snead served as head golf professional for six decades, will stretch to approximately 5,800 yards for the field of 132 senior women.

Last season, Naden Gole, 56, became the first Australian to win the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, defeating 2023 champion Shelly Stoufer, 3 and 2, at The Broadmoor Golf Club.