U.S. SENIOR WOMEN'S AMATEUR
Meet the Quarterfinalists
September 20, 2016 | Wellesley, Mass.
By USGA
U.S. SENIOR WOMEN'S AMATEUR
Laura Coble faces No. 2 seed Kim Eaton in the quarterfinals on Wednesday at Wellesley Country Club. (USGA/Matt Sullivan)
Laura Coble, 52, Augusta, Ga.
- Born May 22, 1964 in Augusta, Ga.
- No. 2,743 in Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking
- Defeated Tama Caldabaugh (3&1), Marian Barker (7&6) and Dana Harrity (3&2) to reach the quarterfinals
- Runner-up to Martha Leach in 2009 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur
- Three-time USGA Women’s State Team champion with Georgia (2005, 2009 and 2011)
- Semifinalist in 2012 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur
- Advanced to Round of 16 in 2015 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur
- Six-time Georgia State Women’s Amateur champion
- Owns one Georgia Women’s Open title
- Nine-time Georgia State Match Play champion
- Three-time Georgia State Senior Women’s Match Play champion
- Three-time Georgia State Senior Women’s Stroke Play champion
- Inducted into Georgia Golf Association Hall of Fame in 2013
- Attended both the University of Georgia and Augusta State University
Kim Eaton, 57, Mesa, Ariz.
- Born Aug. 3, 1959 in Greeley, Colo.
- No. 2,326 in Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking
- Defeated Deborah Anderson (7&6), Cindy Fentross (7&6) and Marilyn Hardy (2&1) to reach quarterfinals
- Two-time U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur quarterfinalist (2009 and 2014)
- Qualified for 1981 and 1982 U.S. Women’s Opens (finished 63rd in 1982)
- Won 2016 senior stroke-play titles in Colorado and Arizona
- Won 2016 Jones/Doherty Senior
- Won 2016 Trans Senior Four-Ball with partner Leigh Klasse
- Owns 21 state championships
- Four-time Colorado State Women’s Stroke Play champion
- 2004 Colorado State Women’s Match Play champion
- Reinstated amateur (1991)
- Inducted into Colorado Golf Hall of Fame (2006)
- Four-time Colorado Senior Player of the Year
- Four-time Arizona Senior Player of the Year
- Graduated from University of Northern Colorado (1992)
- Inducted into the World Police and Fire Games Hall of Fame in 2015
Karen Garcia, 53, Cool, Calif.
- Born Sept. 24, 1962 in Wheeler, Ore.
- No. 2,811 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking
- Defeated Janet Moore (6&5), Lisa McGill (2&1) and Sydney Wells (2&1) to reach the quarterfinals
- Won 2015 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur
- Had only qualified for match play once in 5 previous USGA appearances before 2015 run to title
- Represented California in 2013 USGA Women’s State Team Championship
- Played softball for the University of Oregon and Portland State University (graduated in 1985 from PSU)
- Works as a high school guidance counselor
- Didn’t start playing golf until after college at age 21
- Met her husband, Ruben, at Royal Oaks Country Club in Vancouver, Wash., where he was the superintendent and she was working in the snack bar
Andrea Kraus, 55, Baltimore, Md.
- Born Sept. 23, 1960 in Baltimore, Md.
- No. 2,922 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR)
- Defeated Nancy Smith (5&4), Corey Weworski (3&2) and Lin Culver (8&7) to reach quarterfinals
- Competed in more than 30 USGA championships
- Three-time quarterfinalist in U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur (2003, 2012, 2013)
- Represented Maryland in eight USGA Women’s State Team Championships (runner-up in 2001)
- 1999 Maryland Women’s Open champion
- 1994, 1999 and 2012 Maryland Women’s Amateur champion
- Bronze medalist in 2009 Maccabi Games in Israel
- 2007 Middle Atlantic PGA Women’s champion
- Turned professional in 2007 and received PGA membership in 2008
- Regained amateur status in 2010
- Graduated from Yale University in 1982
- Lost to future LPGA Hall of Famer Se Ri Pak in the Round of 32 in 1995 U.S. Women’s Amateur at The Country Club in nearby Brookline, Mass.
Judith Kyrinis, 52, Canada
- Born April 24, 1964, in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
- No. 1,239 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR)
- Defeated Jen Holland (6&5), Robin Burke (19 holes) and Evelyn Orley (4&3) to reach the quarterfinals
- Runner-up in 2014 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur
- Semifinalist in 2000 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur (lost to eventual champion Ellen Port)
- Claimed 2016 Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur, Women’s Mid-Master and Senior Women’s titles in same week in Alberta
- 2015 and 2016 Senior Women’s North & South Champion
- 2016 Ontario Senior Women’s champion
- A registered nurse
- Brother, Dan Allan, competed in 2016 U.S. Senior Amateur (missed cut)
Ellen Port, 55, St. Louis, Mo.
- Born Sept. 21, 1961 in North Kansas City, Mo.
- No. 1,991 in Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking
- Playing quarterfinal match on 55th birthday
- Defeated Alicia Kapheim (5&4), Mary Ann Hayward (4&3) and Julie Harrison (3&2) to reach the quarterfinals
- Six-time USGA champion
- 1995, 1996, 2000 and 2011 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion, which ties her for the most titles with Meghan Stasi
- 2012 and 2013 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur champion
- 2002 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur runner-up (lost to Kathy Hartwiger)
- Member of 1994 and 1996 USA Curtis Cup Teams
- Captained victorious 2014 USA Curtis Cup Team in hometown (St. Louis Country Club)
- 1994 Trans-National Amateur champion
- Eight-time Missouri Women’s Amateur champion
- 13-time Metropolitan St. Louis Women’s Amateur champion
- Inducted into Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2012
- Inducted into St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame in 2012
- Currently the women’s golf coach at NCAA Division III Washington University
- Formerly coached high school golf at John Burroughs High in St. Louis
- Graduated from University of Missouri in 1983
Lisa Schlesinger, 58, Laytonsville, Md.
- Born Jan. 16, 1958 in Washington, D.C.
- No. 2,268 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking
- Defeated Noreen Mohler (3&2), Joann Ferrieri (2&1) and Stacey Camara (1 up) to reach the quarterfinals
- Two-time semifinalist in the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur (2011 and 2012); lost to eventual champion Terri Frohnmeyer in 2011
- Stroke-play medalist in 2011 and 2012 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur
- Represented Maryland in four USGA Women’s State Team Championships
- Three-time Maryland Women’s Mid-Amateur champion (2008, 2009, 2016)
- 2015 Florida State Golf Association Senior Stroke Play and Match Play champion
- Started playing golf at 35
- Inducted into the Greater Washington, D.C. Fast-Pitch Softball Hall of Fame in 1996
- Inducted into the Greater Washington, D.C. Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2001
- Graduated from the University of Maryland in 1979
Caryn Wilson, 55, Rancho Mirage, Calif.
- Born March 14, 1961 in San Gabriel, Calif.
- No. 2,529 in Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking
- Defeated Alison Reifers (5&4), Akemi Nakata Khaiat (8&6) and Lynne Cowan (1 up) to reach the quarterfinals
- One of two females to play in the U.S. Open for tennis and golf (Althea Gibson)
- Regained amateur status in 2013
- Won 1981 collegiate doubles title while at Stanford University
- Won NCAA team championship in 1982, the first year the NCAA sanctioned women’s sports
- Traveled the country with husband, Stan, and their golden retriever playing professional golf from 1999-2009
- Decided to give up professional golf after missing final stage of LPGA Q-School by a shot in 2010
- Competed in inaugural U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship with partner Mina Hardin in 2015 at Bandon Dunes
- Semifinalist in 2013 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur
- Advanced to U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur semifinals in 1997
- Represented California in the 2015 USGA Women’s State Team Championship