The fields are set for the 20th Washington State Women's Amateur and the 14th Washington State Senior Women's Amateur. Both championships are conducted by the Washington State Golf Association, and will be held concurrently at Twin Lakes Golf & Country Club in Federal Way, Wash. on June 25-27. The first tee time is set for tomorrow at 7:30 a.m.
The Washington State Women's Amateur is the state's premier amateur championship for women golfers, and traditionally attracts the region's finest players. Players to watch for include Chessey Thomas of Spokane, who won the 2012 Pacific Northwest Women's Amateur; Jordan Ferreira of University Place, who won the 2012 Pacific Northwest Junior Girls' Amateur and was named the 2012 WSGA Junior Girls' Player of the Year; Megan Haase of Spokane, who held the first round lead in last year's championship and was medalist at last year's Pacific Northwest Women's Amateur; and Katie Lee of Silverdale, who won the 2012 WSGA Women's Champion of Champions.
Past champions have gone on to make their mark in the golf community, and include Paige Mackenzie (2002), a member of the University of Washington Athletic Hall of Fame who finished her senior year ranked the No. 1 golfer in the nation by Golfweek, and who currently plays on the LPGA Tour; Kelli Kamimura (2001), a former four-time high school state champion and All-American at the UW, who now is the head coach of the women's golf team at Washington State University; Jimin Kang (1999), who was the runner-up at the 1999 U.S. Women's Amateur while still in high school, and who now plays on the LPGA Tour; Molly Cooper (1997 & 2000), who was the medalist at the 2000 U.S. Women's Amateur qualifier, and who now is the Director of Tournament & Member Programs at the Pacific Northwest Section PGA; and Erynne Lee (2011), who was selected the WSGA Women's Player of the Year in three consecutive years, made it to the quarterfinals or better of the U.S. Women's Amateur three times, and is now a rising star on the UCLA women's golf team.
The 2012 Washington State Women's Amateur champion, Karinn Dickinson, will not return this year to defend her title. A former standout on the women's golf team at the University of Washington, Dickinson qualified for this year's U.S. Women's Open, which is being held this week at Sebonack Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y.
Yasue Alkins of DuPont, Wash. will return to defend her title in the 14th Washington State Senior Women's Amateur. Last year, Alkins also won the WSGA Senior Women's Champion of Champions and the Tacoma Women's Golf Association Championship, and was named the 2012 WSGA Senior Women's Player of the Year. Alkins also won this championship in 2009. Strong contenders in this year's field are Ann Swanson, a member of the Pacific Northwest Golf Hall of Fame who won this championship in 2000, 2001 and 2008; Ginny Burkey of Fircrest, Wash., who won the championship in 2011 and was selected the WSGA Senior Women's Player of the Year in 2009 and 2011; and Lisa Smego of Olympia, who won the championship in 2006 and 2007.
The format for both championships calls for 54 holes of stroke play.
