Greenlief Repeats as VSGA Am Champion
VSGA Recap | Day 4 Photos | Match Play Bracket
By Chris Lang (Virginia State Golf Association)
CHARLOTTESVILLE — Of the local courses Lauren Greenlief played during her college career at the University of Virginia, the main course at Farmington Country Club was not her favorite.
“When I played here in college, historically, I didn’t play Farmington very well,” she said. “It gave me a really tough time. My short game wasn’t very good. I would say the front nine at Farmington, when I was at UVa, it was a great round if I shot 38.”
After a successful title defense at the Virginia State Golf Association Women’s Amateur Championship, Greenlief will have fonder memories of Farmington, for sure.
Greenlief survived two tough challenges on Thursday, a stellar week of golf culminating in a 2-and-1 victory over Amanda Hollandsworth in the championship match of the 93rd VSGA Women’s Amateur. She became the fourth repeat champion this decade, joining Abby Portyrata, Lauren Coughlin and Amanda Steinhagen.
“It’s always special coming back here,” Greenlief said. “It felt like a little bit of redemption. … To come back this week as a new player, six years out of school, I feel like my game’s a lot stronger. To come back and prove to myself that I can play Farmington well, definitely internally, is really special.”
Greenlief, who lives in Ashburn and is a member at International Country Club, breezed through the first day of match play on Wednesday, her longest match ending on the 13th hole. She faced two considerable challenges on Thursday, the first from Midlothian teenager Rory Weinfurther (VSGA Junior Golf Circuit), who was the only player all week to take Greenlief to the limit.
Sitting in the scoring area on Wednesday, Greenlief said she felt she had an advantage over most in the field on No. 18, a premonition that came true during her semifinal match with Weinfurther. Clinging to a 1-up lead, Greenlief negotiated the treeline along the left side of the hole and placed her drive right in the middle of the fairway.
Weinfurther’s drive strayed short and left, leaving her with no real shot at a back-left hole location. Her approach found the right greenside bunker, while Greenlief’s approach left her in perfect position for, at worst, a two-putt par. Knowing she had to hole out to extend the match, Weinfurther made a game effort, but her bunker escape finished short of the hole. Greenlief two putted for par and the win.
“I think I can kind of hook a 5-wood around the corner,” Greenlief said. “And then coming in at such a steep grade, with a 9-iron, I have the ability to hit the ball with a little higher trajectory than some of the other players out here. That gives me an advantage in getting over that ridge and being able to stop it on that green.”
Hollandsworth (Great Oaks CC) defeated recent UVA graduate Lyndsey Hunnell in her semifinal win. That set up the finalists’ first-ever meeting in match play, and Hollandsworth—a rising senior at Virginia Tech—didn’t give an inch.
Greenlief never trailed, but she couldn’t gain any separation until the back nine. Hollandsworth squared the match twice with birdies on Nos. 6 and 8 before Greenlief won No. 9 with a par to take a 1-up lead at the turn.
A bogey on No. 12 cost Hollandsworth, as Greenlief won the hole with a par to go 2 up. On 15, Hollandsworth topped her drive and hit her second shot into a backyard, and with Greenlief safely on the green in two, Hollandsworth conceded the hole. Hollandsworth stayed alive with a birdie on 16, but her birdie putt on 17 came up just short, sealing Greenlief’s victory.
“She’s not going to make a lot of mistakes,” said Hollandsworth, who was making her third title-match appearance. “You have to beat her with birdies. I had a lot of opportunities, but a couple of them just didn’t roll. But I played well. That’s all I can really say, is that we both played well and it just worked out in her favor. Hopefully I’ll play in a couple more of these and get my opportunity eventually.”
Next up for Greenlief is a pair of USGA championships—the U.S. Women’s Amateur and the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur, a tournament she won in 2015. And further down the road, she’ll tee it up at Winchester Country Club in September for the VSGA Mid-Amateur Championship as the only female competitor in the field.
“It’s near my house, it’s 6,300 yards and I play that golf course a bunch,” Greenlief said. “It’s a golf course where the men aren’t going to have an advantage over me. You have to hit it accurate and straight.
“I’ve really enjoyed the last couple of years being around the men’s events and meeting some of the top amateurs on the men’s side and building a camaraderie. I’ve felt really supported by all of them to try to tee it up in the event.”