Suzie Tran of Poulsbo, Wash. drained eight birdies in today’s opening round and fired a 3-under-par 69 to take the early lead in the Washington State Women’s Amateur Championship.
Tran is 13-years old and is home-schooled, and she schooled the rest of the field today. “It was just a lot of fun out there,” she said after the round, in something of an understatement. She played Sudden Valley once before, five years ago when she was eight years old, playing only nine holes.
Sitting in second place, two shots behind Tran, is Rino Sasaki of Tokyo, Japan, who shot 1-under 71. Tran and Sasaki were the only two players in the field to shoot under par. Defending champion Olivia Benzin of Tacoma, Wash. shot 2-over 74, and is currently tied for fourth place.
Tina Papatolis, of Issaquah, Wash., shot 6-over 78 to lead the Women’s Mid-Amateur by two shots over two-time defending champion Victoria Fallgren of Spokane, Wash.
Karen Johnson of Auburn, Wash. shot 2-over 74 to lead the Senior Women’s Amateur by two shots over Sandra Turbide of Canada. Defending champion Leslie Folsom is in fifth place, six shots behind Johnson.
In the Super Senior, Robin Lee Monroe of Canada started her round slowly, sitting at 3-over-par after just four holes, but went even-par the rest of the way, to find herself at the top of the leaderboard, two shots ahead of Linda Skwarski of Duvall, Wash.
Super Senior defending champion Sue Ursino of Sammamish, Wash. withdrew from the championship due to illness.
All four championships are being held concurrently this week at Sudden Valley Golf and Country Club in Bellingham, Wash. and are being conducted by the Washington State Golf Association (WSGA). The Women’s Amateur and Mid-Amateur championships are contested over 54 holes of stroke play on June 25-27, while the Senior and Super Senior championships consist of 36 holes of stroke play on June 25-26.
Championship Links:
- Amateur & Mid-Amateur – Results | Pairings | Photos
- Senior & Super Senior – Results | Pairings | Photos
To stay connected on social media, follow WSGA Championships on Twitter @WSGAChampions and use the hashtag #WSGAWomensAm.
The Huskies Women’s golf team is well represented at the #WSGAWomensAm! pic.twitter.com/SUyBVSyupO
— WSGA Championships (@WSGAChampions) June 25, 2019
We caught up with Tina Papatolis (Issaquah) who leads the Women’s Mid-Am championship by 2 strokes after round one. #WSGAWomensAm pic.twitter.com/9SFWkpmhmZ
— WSGA Championships (@WSGAChampions) June 25, 2019
👀 13-year-old Susie Tran (Poulsbo) goes LOW, firing a 3-under 69 to grab the lead in the women’s championship. #WSGAWomensAm pic.twitter.com/CCoxG0dtYd
— WSGA Championships (@WSGAChampions) June 25, 2019
