No. 4 Seed in Women's Mid-Am, Ledwein Loses in 20 holes; Hanstad & Persons Make Match Play

The U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur has been proceeding on schedule in Elverson, Pa., (roughly 50 miles from Philadelphia), and the first round of match play, the Round of 64, should be completed Monday. Meanwhile, the men's Mid-Am is in Whenever Mode, as in "We finished the stroke-play part of the tournamen on Monday, the better part of a day late, and we'll be done with the Round of 64 whenever."

It definitely won't be done Monday. Rain in the Scarsdale-Scarborough area of New York has caused problems for the schedule, and some of the first-round matches won't even get started until Tuesday morning.

The weather has been more cooperative in Elverson. On Saturday, Courtney Dow set course and tournament records with a 7-under-par 64 on the North Course at Stonewall, and although she shot 75 on Sunday, she still managed to get a one-third share of medalist honors with a 36-hole total of 139. Jackie Rogowicz used an eagle at the 336-yard par-4 fourth hole to offset a double bogey at the 381-yard 10th hole in a second-round 68 on her way to 139. And Jessica Spicer, who holed a wedge shot for an eagle 2 in her first-round 69, followed it with a 70. That made her the third player in the first-place tie at 139 during the stroke-play qualifying portion of the Women's Mid-Am.

Taylor Ledwein, the two-time MGA Player of the Year from New Prague, finished fourth in qualifying, with a 69-72--141. And she led 3 up on Monday in her Round of 64 match, but Erin Houtsman responded with a bunch of birdies, including three in a row on the eighth, ninth and 10th holes, and wound up defeating Ledwein with a birdie on the 125-yard, par-3 20th hole.

Dow, the No. 1 seed, and Spicer, who was No. 3, both lost, too, Spicer in 19 holes to No. 62 Katrin Wolfe. Saran Lebrun Ingram, the No. 64 seed, beat Dow 3&2. Rogowicz had no such problems. She won the first hole of her match against No. 63 Tara Joy-Connelly with a double bogey, and then played the next 13 holes in 2 on her way to a 5&4 victory.

In New York, Jeronimo Esteve, a 42-year-old Puerto Rico native -- and cancer survivor -- who's been living in Florida for three decades, is playing in his eighth Mid-Am, and the eighth time was the charm, at least as far as being medalist is concerned. He opened with a 3-under 67 at Fenway Golf Club and backed it up with a 3-under 68 at Sleepy Hollow Country Club, and his 36-hole aggregate of 135 was good enough to claim medalist honors. Esteve, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma 12 years ago but seems to be doing fine so far, will have to wait until Tuesday morning (8 o'clock) to tee off in his Round of 64 match against No. 64, whoever he is. No one knows yet because the 16-for-14 playoff to determine the last qualifers for match play isn't over yet.

Scott Harvey was one of the other three players besides Esteve who shot 67 in the first round. He, too, was at Fenway the first day, and he followed it with a 69 at Sleepy Hollow, which made him the stroke-play runner-up at 136.

There were seven guys in the starting field who were from Minnesota, had Minnesota connections or qualified here, including Sammy Schmitz, who was exempt by virtue of having won the Mid-Am in 2015. He shot a rain-delayed 72 at Sleepy Hollow in his first round, but the six-time MGA Player of the Year had a 77 at Fenway in the second and failed to advance.

Bryce Hanstad, the 2008 Minnesota State Am champion, won the MGA Mid-Players each of the last two years, and he made it all the way to the semifinals at the U.S. Mid-Am last year. This year, the 36-year-old from Alexandria got off to a modest start, with a 73 and Fenway, but he stormed back with a 66 at Sleepy Hollow and tied for 16th in qualifying with a 139. He's the No. 17 seed and started his first match against No. 48 Justin Bryant late Monday. They made it through seven holes, and Hanstad went 4 under on the four holes from the fourth through the seventh (birdie, par, eagle, birdie) to be 1 up.

Josh Persons, 39, has been around. He's from Fargo and won a North Dakota state high school championship, went to Kansas State but then transferred to Minnesota. He won on the PGA Tour Canada, was a regular on what is now the Korn Ferry Tour, and played in three PGA Tour events before getting his amateur status back. Like Hanstad, he made it to the semifinals of the Mid-Am last year, which explains why they didn't have to qualify this year. Persons shot 70 at Sleepy Hollow and 73 at Fenway, and his 36-hole tab of 143 earned him the No. 46 seed.

At first, he was going to tee off at 5:45 p.m. in his first-round match against No. 19 Mark Costanza, but it has since been pushed back to 10:10 a.m. Tuesday.


U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur Championship

At Stonewall's North Course

Par 71, 5,953 yards

Elverson, Pa.

Stroke play

Final results (the top 64 players qualify for match play)

T1. Courtney Dow 64-75--139

T1. Jessica Spicer 69-70--139

T1. Jackie Rogowicz 71-68--139

4. Taylor Ledwein 69-72T5. Julia Potter-Bobb 70-72--142

T5. Lindsay Gahm 73-69--142

T5. Celine Manche 72-70--142

T5. Blakesly Brock 74-68--142\

Failed to advance (3-for-8 playoff at 154)

Emma Groom 80-76--156

Olivia Herrick 80-77--157


Match play

No. 64 Sarah Lebrun Ingram leads No. 1 Courtney Dow 2 up thru 15

No. 2 Jackie Rogowicz def. No. 63 Tara Joy-Connelly 5&4

No. 3 Jessica Spicer 2 up vs. No. 62 Karin Wolfe thru 9

No. 61 Erin Houtsma def.. No. 4 Taylor Ledwein 20 holes

No. 5 Celine Manche def. No. 60 Martha Leach 2&1

No. 6 Lindsay Gahm 1 up vs. No. 59 Lauren Gebauer thru 6

No. 7 Blakesly Brock 2 up vs. No. 58 Brenda Corrie Kuehn thru 12

No. 57 Shannon Johnson def. No. 8 Julia Potter-Bobb 2&1


U.S. Mid-Amateur (Men's)

At Sleepy Hollow Country Club

Par 71, 6,850 yards

Scarborough, N.Y.

& at Fenway Golf Club

Par 70, 6,578 yards

Scarsdale, N.Y.

Stroke play (the top 64 players advance to match play)

Final results

1. Jeronimo Esteve 67F-68SH--135

2. Scott Harvey 67F-69SH--136

T3. Sam Jones 68SH-69F--137

T3. Nate McCoy 69SH-68F--137

T3. Harry Bolton 70F-67SH--137

T3. Blair Hamm 69F-68SH--137

T16. Bryce Hanstad 73F-66SH--139

T43. Josh Persons 70SH-72F--142

Failed to advance (16-for-14 playoff at 144)

George Ordway 73SH-75F--148

Jesse Larson 72SH-76F--148

Ben Greve 73SH-76F--149

Sammy Schmitz 72F-77SH--149

Jesse Bull 75SH-79F--154