Ladies National Golf Association

Over 90 Years of Tradition in Women’s Golf

Johnson Holds On to Lead; Daniel and Haywood Own the Top at LNGA Championships

TUBAC, Ariz. (April 27) – On the second day of the Ladies National Golf Association (LNGA) Mid Amateur and Senior Amateur Championships Gretchen Johnson of Portland, Ore., Kay Daniel of Covington, La., and Shelly Haywood of Huntington Beach, Calif., all own the top of the leaderboard. In the Mid-Am Division Johnson dominated and continued to hold onto her lead through 36 holes. The NYU grad shot a 3-under 72 Wednesday to maintain the top place on the leaderboard at 143 with Amanda Jacobs of Portland, Ore., holding the second place spot with a 149 overall. 

“It’s firm, the ball is bouncing. You have to make aggressive swings to conservative targets,” said Johnson. “You have to putt well, ya know? We’re all facing the same challenge.” The conditions on the course today were breezy with gusts up to 20 mph which posed a challenge for many of the golfers. 

Allison Gonring of Cincinnati, Ohio., and Natalie Mu of San Gabriel, Calif., share the third place spot with reigning USGA Women’s Mid-Am Champion Blakesly Brock of Chattanooga, Tenn., at 155 overall. 

2021 Louisiana Golf Association Senior Amateur Champion Kay Daniel shared the leaderboard with former Arizona women’s golf coach Shelly Haywood at the end of day two. Daniel finished the day with a 3-over 72 that included two birdies for an overall score of 147. Haywood joined Daniel in the first place spot after shooting 2-over 72 paired with yesterday’s score of 73 for a total of 147. 

“It was a lot tougher today than it was yesterday, the wind was a challenge, especially the par threes.” said Haywood. “It was a challenge out there, but I hung in there.” 

Daniel agreed with Haywood, “It was tougher today, the wind was a little bit more of a challenge…it was never consistent. It was hard to pick a club and have confidence with it.” 

Holding onto the third place spot is two-time Southern California Senior Women’s Amateur Champion Kathy Kurata of Pasadena, Calif., with a 36-hole score of 149. Kurata also hold the 2021 title for the California Senior Women’s Amateur Championship. 

With wind gusts of up to 20 mph, many golfers agreed that it made for a challenging, but interesting day. Only one day remains in the LNGA Mid-Am and Senior Championships, and it looks like it will be a tight race for the top spots. Use Golf Genius to follow along with scoring using GGID: GCCTQY. 

Both championships are 54-hole, stroke-play events in their inaugural year and are conducted by the Ladies National Golf Association. The Mid-Amateur Championship is for players 25-years-old and up with an index in the World Handicap System not exceeding 10.4. The Senior Amateur Championship is for players 50-year-old and up with an index in World Handicap System not exceeding 14.4. The Wilma Cup, in honor of the departed women’s golf advocate and LNGA leader Wilma Gilliland, will be presented to the Mid-Amateur and Senior Amateur champions and remain in their custody for a year. Medals will also be awarded to the runner-up and third-place finisher in each championship.

Quotes

Allison Gonring (thoughts on the day) “It was definitely a mental battle with all the wind. You had to think your way through every shot…today you had to think of yardage, wind, how strong is the wind…I’m tired from all the thinking.” 

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ABOUT THE LADIES NATIONAL GOLF ASSOCIATION (LNGA)

The LNGA is a national volunteer women’s amateur golf association founded in Kansas City Mo. in 1927 to promote amateur golf and good sportsmanship among women golfers and junior girls.  Our events are hosted at venues across the United States. The events spotlight the nationally prominent amateur golfer that may be eligible for Curtis Cup team selection along with the skilled players from around the world. The LNGA Amateur, the Women’s Mid-Amateur and the Senior Women’s Amateur are included in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) list of golf championships.  

Media Contact: Alison Fisher, alison.fisher1118@gmail.com