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Wilton, N.Y. -- McGregor Links Country Club is set to host the 92nd Women’s Amateur and 13th Women’s Mid-Amateur Championships on July 11-12. 

Related: Championship Home / Scoring / Pairings / Photos / Program / Past Winners

The field is set at 60 players divided into two divisions: Amateur and Mid-Amateur (25+ years old). The Championships will run concurrently from Monday through Tuesday’s finish with tee times for the first round of the championship in groups of three competitors. After 36 holes of stroke play, a cut will be applied to the amateur division to the low 30 and ties. The remaining field will be paired together based on division as well as score, and will tee off in threesomes to finish the championship, completing 54 holes overall. The Mid-Amateur field will play 36 holes (18 holes each day), without a cut. 

Championship Quick Facts

Dates: July 11-12, 2022

Host Site: McGregor Links Country Club, Wilton, N.Y.

Course Yardage: 5,924 yards / 5,458 yards

Amateur Division 

IN: 2,927 yards / OUT: 2,681 yards
TOTAL: 5,924 yards, par 37-35-72 

 Mid-Amateur Division

IN: 2,681 yards / OUT: 2,821 yards
TOTAL: 5,458 yards, par 37-35-72 

Defending Champions: Kyra Cox (Amateur) & Christy Schultz (Mid-Amateur)

Format:

Amateur: 54 holes of stroke play, played over two days. Field will be cut to low 30 and ties after 36 holes.

Mid-Amateur: 36 holes of stroke play over two days, without a cut. 

Eligibility: Open to female amateur golfers who are members of the NYSGA and have an active Handicap Index issued by a golf club which is licensed to use the USGA Handicap System. To be eligible for the Mid-Amateur, golfers must have reached their 25th birthday by July 11, 2022.  

Schedule of Events

92nd NYS Women's Amateur - Stroke Play, 54 holes

Sunday, July 10: Practice Rounds

Monday, July 11: Round 1 & 2 (36 Holes) - Cut after 36 holes to low 30 & ties

Tuesday, July 12: Rounds 3 (18 Holes)

13th NYS Women's Mid-Amateur - Stroke Play, 36 Holes

Sunday, July 10: Practice Rounds

Monday, July 11: Round 1 (18 Holes)

Tuesday, July 12: Round 2 (18 Holes)

Ties: In the event of a tie for either Championship, a sudden-death playoff will be held immediately following play.

The Field

The 92nd NYS Women’s Amateur Championship field contains several past champions including:

Kyra Cox, 22, of Centennial Golf Club, is the defending women’s amateur champion. Her title in 2021 marked her third women’s am win. Her first title came in 2015, when she became one of the youngest players to win the women’s amateur at 15 years old. In 2018, Cox secured her second title by seven strokes at Yahnundasis Golf Club. The 22-year-old just wrapped up her senior season on the Furman University women’s golf team in Greenville, South Carolina.

The 13th Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship field contains several past champions including:

Tammy Blyth, 62, of Monroe Golf Club, broke through in 2018 to win the New York State Women’s Senior Amateur Championship at Thendara Golf Club. She has had numerous solid performances in NYSGA championships and is on the board of the Rochester District Golf Association.

Pennie Carlo, 56, of Crestwood Golf Club, captured her first NYS title at the 2017 NYS Women’s Four-Ball Championship at Ravenwood Golf Club with partner Lauren Cupp. The Rome resident competed in the 57th US Women’s Senior Amateur in 2018. She recently finished as the runner-up team in the 2022 NYS Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship with Cupp.

Teresa Cleland, 63, of Bellevue Country Club, took home the NYS Women’s Mid-Amateur title in three consecutive years from 2011-13 at Rome CC, Seneca Falls CC, CC of Ithaca, respectively. Cleland also won the Women’s Senior title consecutively in 2009-10 at Thendara GC & Ontario CC. More recently, the Syracuse native has collaborated with Carina Watkins to win back-to-back NYS Women’s Senior Amateur Four-Ball (2018 & 2019), making her a seven-time New York State champion. The Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame Inductee has competed at the national level numerous times including USGA Women’s State championships, U.S. Mid-Ams and over ten US Women’s Senior championship appearances. 

Lauren Cupp, 37, of Yahnundasis Golf Club, claimed the 2017 Women’s Mid-Amateur at Schuyler Meadows Club by one stroke. Cupp captured her second NYS title in 2019 at the Women’s Four-Ball Championship with partner Pennie Carlo. Cupp is the head men’s and women’s golf coach at her alma mater, Hamilton College in upstate New York. Cupp set a world record at the 2021 New York Speedgolf Open Championship shooting one-under 72 and running the course in 50 minutes and 48 seconds, for an overall time of 122:48.  In 2015, Cupp finished runner-up in the Speedgolf World Championships at The Glen Club in Illinois, shooting a 21-over 93 in only 58 minutes. She won the event in 2018, alongside her husband Wesley, who won the Men’s division. Cupp finished T-2 at the 2018 Mid-Amateur Championship and finished as the runner up in the 2022 Women’s  Amateur Four-Ball Championship.

Kim Kaul, 64, of East Aurora Country Club, is a three-time NYS Senior Amateur champion (2008, 2015, 2021) and took home runner-up honors in the 2015 and 2018 NYS Women’s Mid-Amateur. A member of the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame, Kaul has been named Buffalo District Golf Association Player of the Year three times and placed second in the 2005 NYS Women’s Amateur. She looks to continue her winning streak, as she has already won two NYSGA championships in 2022 (Senior Amateur Mixed Team, Women’s Senior Amateur Four-Ball). 

Mary Jo Kelly, 66, of Wolferts Roost Country Club, claimed the NYS Women's Super Senior title in 2021. She also won the NYS Women’s Amateur in 1980 at Foxfire GC and was runner up at Kingswood Golf Course in 1999. She’s been women’s club champion over thirty times at Wolferts Roost, and has won six Northeastern Women’s Golf Association (NEWGA) championships.

Julie Murphy, 41, of Brookfield Country Club, was inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 2021. She finished as the runner-up at the 2017 NYS Women’s Mid-Amateur. Murphy captured the 2017 NYS Amateur Mixed Team Championship with her husband, Michael, on the third playoff hole at Skaneateles Country Club. In 2020, she won the Buffalo District Golf Association Individual Women’s Championship at the Springville Country Club and is a five-time BDGA player of the year. Julie and Michael finished tied for second in the 2022 Amateur Mixed Team Championship at Transit Valley Country Club.

Christy Schultz, 42, of Oak Hill Country Club, is the defending Women's Mid-Amateur Champion. She has captured a total of eight NYSGA titles. She has won the Women’s Amateur Championship three times, first in 2004 at RTJGC at Cornell, again in 2007 at Oneida Community Golf Club, and 2008 at Wayne Hills Country Club. In 2009-10, she won the first two Mid-Amateur championships at Drumlins Country Club (East) and Sodus Bay Heights Golf Club. Last year, she captured her third Mid-Am title over a decade after the first two, beating Lauren Cupp in a playoff at Teugega. She also won back-to-back Girls’ Junior titles in 1996 at Mohawk Golf Club and Gowanda Country Club in 1997.

Mary Sicard, 60, of Queensbury Country club, is a three-time New York State title winner. She brought home the Women’s Senior Amateur Championship in 2016, 2017, 2019.

Carina Watkins, 61, of Beaver Meadows Golf Club, won the New York State Women’s Senior Amateur in 2011 at Clifton Springs Country Club. She added two more state titles collaborating with Teresa Cleland to win the 2018 and 2019 Women’s Senior Amateur Four-Ball Championships. In 2020, Watkins won the overall title at the Rome City Women’s Amateur championship.

Other players to watch:

Rachel Barlette, 34, of Shaker Ridge Country Club, won the Northeastern Women’s Golf Association title in 2020 and recently won the Schenectady Classic, firing 77 in back-to-back rounds.

Nicole Criscone, 16, of Eagle Crest Golf Club, competed in the National Drive, Chip and Putt Championship when she was ten years old. She earned an exemption on the American Junior Golf Association Tour with a third-place finish in an AJGA event last summer.

Carly Haines, 20, of Wykagyl Country Club, Is a member of the women’s golf team at the University of Louisville where she just completed her Freshman season. Last August she competed in the Kentucky Women’s Open where she placed third. Haines is a three-time club champion at Wykagyl and a three-time winner on the Metropolitan PGA Junior Tour.

Hayden Knapp, 12, of Glens Falls Country Club, is the youngest competitor in this year’s field. She earned a top-5 finish in the New York State Girls’ PGA Junior Championship in May. In the Drive, Chip and Putt Local Qualifier at Saratoga National Golf Club last month, Knapp placed first among 12-13-year-old girls. 

Elena Lopez, 22, of Crag Burn Golf Club, finished second at the 2018 NYS Girls’ Junior Championship. She recently wrapped up her senior season on the Quinnipiac women’s golf team, and was part of the program’s third ever conference title in 2021. She finished sixth in the 2019 NYS Women’s Amateur and tied for sixth in 2021.

Taylor Miano, 20, of Metropolis Country Club, recorded top-three finishes in the 2016 and 2017 Girls’ Junior Amateur Championships. She is on the golf team at James Madison University where she just completed her junior season. 

Emily Montagnino, 22, of the Metropolitan PGA Junior Golf Club, just played her senior season at the University of Tampa. While in high school, Montagnino was the eighth-ranked player in New York State during her Junior and Senior seasons. 

Amber Pennington, 19, of Wiltwyck Golf Club, recently completed her sophomore season on the Delaware State University women’s golf team. While at Rondout Valley High School, she was a three-time NYS Section IX Champion, and placed ninth in the NYSPHSAA State Championship during her sophomore year. She and her father Martin Pennington tied for second in this year’s State Amateur Mixed Team Championship.

Lauren Peter, 22, of the MET PGA Junior Club, just wrapped up her senior season on the Ohio State University golf team. She won a New York State Public High School Athletic Association championship in 2017 after finishing second in 2015 and 2016. She was named New York State Section One player of the year three times and was a four-time all-state selection.

Kennedy Swedick, 15, of the NYSGA eClub - Capital District, Is a two-time U.S. Girls’ Junior Amateur Championship qualifier. She made it to the round of 32 in the 2021 U.S. Junior and qualified again in 2022. Swedick won the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Championship in June.

Claire Yioulos, 20, of Oak Hill Country Club, is a rising Junior on the Richmond University women’s golf team. In high school, she was named Section V Player of the Year and won the Section V Tournament of Champions. Yioulos won the Western New York PGA Championship in 2017.

McGregor Links

McGregor Links Country Club is home to a true links-style golf course in Wilton, NY designed by Devereux Emmet. 

Emmet was a pioneering American golf course architect who designed more than 150 courses worldwide. He designed and built McGregor Links Country Club in 1921. Some of Emmet’s designs include Congressional Country Club, Garden City Golf Club, Engineers Country Club and Bethpage State Park.

McGregor Links has hosted many amateur championships throughout its’ history, including the 1926 and 1982 Men’s Amateur, the 1993 Men’s Mid-Amateur, the 1976 and 1978 Men’s Senior, the 2011 Boys’ Juniorn Amateur and the 1974 and 1987 Women’s Amateur. The scenic and challenging course provides a fitting venue for New York’s ’s top amateur players to compete for state championships.

Fred Wilkes
NYSGA Communications Intern