Benzin leads wire-to-wire to win Washington State Women's Amateur, Fallgren defends Mid-Amateur title

By wsga

Posted on Jun 28, 2018

Olivia Benzin of Tacoma shot rounds of 69-72-77 to win the 25th Washington State Women’s Amateur; Victoria Fallgren of Spokane successfully defended her title by winning the 9th Washington State Women’s Mid-Amateur; Leslie Folsom of Tukwila, Wash. won the 19th Washington State Women’s Senior Amateur in a playoff; and Sue Ursino of Sammamish, Wash. won the 5th Washington State Super Senior Women’s Amateur title in her first attempt.

All four championships were held concurrently at Lake Spanaway Golf Course in Tacoma, Wash. and conducted by the Washington State Golf Association (WSGA).

Click here for the recap and interviews from the Senior and Super Senior Women’s Amateur Championships.

Washington State Women’s Amateur Champion Olivia Benzin and Washington State Women’s Mid-Amateur Champion Victoria Fallgren (L to R)

Benzin, a rising senior on the Oregon State University women’s golf team, led the Women’s Amateur from wire-to-wire. She shot the only under-par round of the championship, in shooting a 3-under 69 in the first round. She started today’s third and final round with a six-shot lead, cruising to a four-shot win over second-place finisher Jamie Huo of Auburn, Wash.

“I started off the week with a couple of solid rounds,” Benzin said. “Today was a bit more of a grind, but I was able to finish it off. I didn’t know where I stood (on the leaderboard) coming down the stretch; I knew I wasn’t having a great day, so just tried to stay as steady as I could.”

Later this month, Benzin will be playing in the WSWGA State Championship. She is a three-time winner of that event, and will be trying for four in a row.

Benzin’s name now goes on the trophy with other notable champions, such as LPGA Tour players Paige Mackenzie, Jimin Kang and Erynne Lee, among many others.

Fallgren has now won the Women’s Mid-Amateur for the second year in a row. She began today’s final round three shots behind leader Kim Shek of Bellevue. “I got off to a good start this morning,” Fallgren said. “I was 1-under for the day after five holes, so that got me right back in it. I didn’t grab the lead until the 17th hole. It was a fight all day. I was trying not to pay attention (to what the other players were doing), just trying to stay focused on what I was doing.”

Fallgren is the assistant coach for the women’s golf team at Gonzaga University, and was named the 2017 WSGA Women’s Mid-Amateur Player of the Year.

To join the conversation on social media, use the hashtag #WSGAWomensAm and follow WSGA Championships on Twitter @WSGAChampions.