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LOUDONVILLE, NY -- New York State’s top amateur women golfers will face off this week at Schuyler Meadows Club in Loudonville, N.Y. for the 88th NYS Women’s Amateur & 9th Mid-Amateur Championships.

Related: Championship Website // Starting Times // Scoring // Past Champions

The field is set at 68, filled with faces both familiar and foreign, all of whom will surely be tested by the pristine Devereux Emmet design and championship setup. The Amateur & Mid-Amateur Championships will run concurrently from Wednesday through Friday’s finish.

Past Champions

The 88th NYS Women’s Amateur Championship field contains only one past champion in Kyra Cox, who captured the title in 2015 at Tuscarora GC. Last year, Cox attempted to defend her title and came up just short during a final-round shootout. The 17-year-old has gained national attention in the last couple of years after qualifying for the Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals in 2015 and in 2016 competing in the US Girls’ Junior, US Women’s Amateur and Junior PGA Championship. Currently, she is ranked 1097 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings and has verbally committed to attend Furman University in Greenville, S.C. for the fall of 2018.

Also in this year’s Women’s field is past NYS Girls’ champion Alexis Hios who won in 2013 at Skaneateles CC. Last year, she also qualified for the USGA Girls’ Junior Championship. The Rye native is a rising senior at Towson University where she plays on the women’s golf team.

The 9th NYS Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship field contains a wide array of past New York State champions including past winners of the Women’s Amateur, Mid-Amateur, Women’s Senior & Women’s Super-Senior.

Mary Sicard, a resident of Lake George, won the NYS Women’s Senior championship last year (her first year playing in the championship) at the Whiteface Inn Golf Club.

Teresa Cleland of Syracuse, 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, making her a five-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, US Mid-Ams and US Women’s Senior championships.

Kim Kaul is a two-time NYS Women’s Senior champion (2008 & 2015 at Holiday Valley & Thendara) and has finished as runner-up in both the Women’s Amateur and Mid-Amateur. The Greater Buffalo Sports Hall-Of-Famer has qualified for the US Senior Women’s Amateur, USGA Women’s State championships and the US Women’s Four-Ball. 

Mary Jo Kelly, who won the NYS Women’s Amateur in 1980 at Foxfire GC, has had major success on the local level. A member of Wolferts Roost in Loudonville, she’s been women’s club champion over thirty times and has won six Northeastern Women’s Golf Association (NEWGA) championships. In 2015, Kelly earned a berth into the U.S. Senior Amateur at the Hillwood CC in Nashville, Tenn.

Nancy Kroll, was crowned NYS Women’s Mid-Amateur champion in 2014 at Kanon Valley after a fifteen-year hiatus from golf and the following year won another NEWGA title at Normanside CC, her fifth time winning the championship.

Gail Brophy, a legend in the amateur golf community who hails from Glens Falls, has won four NYS Amateur titles including two Women’s Amateurs in the early 60’s (’61 at Niagara Falls CC & ’63 at Whiteface Inn GC) and two consecutive Super Senior titles in 2007-08 (The Whiteface Club & Holiday Valley) after a 42-year hiatus from the sport to take over the family business and raise a family. In her mid-seventies, Brophy continues to compete at the local and state level quite frequently.

Sandra Wood, of Ithaca, is a three time NYS champion. Wood held the Women’s Super Senior title for three consecutive years from 2009-11, winning at Thendara GC, Brookwoods CC and Clifton Springs CC.

Other Women to Watch

In the Women’s Amateur

Alix Lowe, of Farmingdale, is looking to capture her second major win this month after her recent WMGA/MGA Women's Met Amateur Championship title last week at Mountain Ridge CC. The rising Junior at Towson University carded a 2-over 75 to win by one stroke. In late June, Lowe was able to qualify for the 2017 US Women's Amateur Championship at Forsgate CC (Banks Course) in Monroe Township, N.J., grabbing one of four spots. The championship will take place at San Diego CC in Chula Vista, C.A. in August. 

Marianna Monaco, of Yonkers, finished as runner-up in 2016 after losing on the first playoff hole against eventual champion Bailey Cocca. Monaco began her collegiate golf career at Newberry University where she was chosen as all-conference freshman player of the year in 2014 and all-conference player of the year during her sophomore season. She transferred to the University of South Carolina as a junior, where she completed her education and was a member of the women’s golf team for two seasons.

Jenny Buchanan, a Schuyler Meadows Club member and local favorite, finished in the top-5 in last year’s championship. She is a rising junior on the women’s golf team at Towson University along with fellow state amateur golfer Alexis Hios. As a freshman, she finished the fall with the lowest average (77.8) of any freshman in program history.

Madison Braman, a recent graduate of Shaker High in Latham, has been gaining local attention in the Capital Area for her impressive ability. She received the 2015 sponsor’s exemption for the local Symetra Tour stop, the Fucillo Kia Championship. This spring, she became the first female player from Section 2 to make the state team since former LPGA star Dottie Pepper of Saratoga Springs in 1983.

Ina Kim will make her first appearance in a NYSGA event, having recently just moved to Manhattan a couple of years back. Kim won the WMGA/MGA Women’s Met Amateur Championship by three strokes at Atlantic Golf Club in 2016. Originally from California, Kim has seen her fair share of success over the years with a runner-up finish in the 2000 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship and a successful playing career at Northwestern University.

Chelsea Dantonio of Buffalo, finished in the top-5 in last year’s championship. She plays college women’s golf for the Winthrop Eagles and will be heading into her junior year this fall. She recently competed in the 2017 Women’s Porter Cup. 

In the Mid-Amateur

Lauren Cupp, of Rome, is the assistant men’s and women’s golf coach at her alma mater, Hamilton College in upstate New York. Cupp competed in the 2016 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship last year at The Kahkwa Club in Erie, Pa. 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! Cupp finished runner-up during the 2015 NYS Mid-Am, where she fell to Dani Mullen at Tuscarora GC.

Last Year’s Champ Turns Pro

Bailey Cocca, who claimed her sole NYS Women’s Amateur title last year at Elmira Country Club in dramatic fashion, moved on to the professional ranks this past offseason. As an amateur, Cocca won three NYS titles including consecutive Girls’ Junior titles in 2009-10 at Skaneateles CC and CC of Mendon. Now an assistant professional at Normanside Country Club in Delmar, the three time NYS titleholder recently competed in the local Symetra Tour stop, The Fucillo Kia Classic of NY, under a local exemption. 

Championship Quick Facts

Dates: July 12 – 14, 2017

Host Site: Schuyler Meadows Club, Loudonville, N.Y.

Course Yardage:  

6,070 yards, par 72 (Women’s Amateur)

5,533 yards, par 73 (Women’s Mid-Amateur)

2016 Champions: Bailey Cocca (Amateur), Joanna Beatty (Mid-Amateur)

Format: 54 holes of stroke play, played over three days. Field will be cut to low 50% for each championship after 36 holes.

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 25^th birthday by July 12, 2017. 

Schedule of Events

Tuesday, July 11

9:00am – 3:00pm // Registration and practice rounds

Wednesday, July 12

8:00am – 9:50am // Round 1 Tee Times

Thursday, July 13

8:00am – 9:50am // Round 2 Tee Times

Friday, July 14

8:00am – 9:30am // Round 3 Tee Times

3:00pm // Awards Ceremony

Schuyler Meadows Club

As one of the premier golf clubs in the New York’s capital region, Schuyler Meadows boasts a magnificent design constructed by the preeminent course architect Devereux Emmet in 1927.

Schuyler Meadows has hosted the NYS Women’s Amateur Championship twice, with the most recent championship taking place in 1976 and the initial in 1955.

In 2013, Schuyler Meadows hosted the 91st NYS Men’s Amateur Championship where Matt Stasiak (Buffalo, NY) secured the venerable title in dramatic fashion over Victor Fox (Delmar, NY).