It was an exciting finish to the Missouri Women’s Amateur July 17 at Osage National, with Chelsea Schriewer of St. Charles coming from behind to beat former 6-time champ Ellen Port.
Held at the Arnold Palmer signature course over a 3-day period on the Links and River courses, Port entered the final day of the 70th Amateur with a 5-stroke lead. Schriewer, the runner-up last year, shot 2-under-par on the final round, and caught up with Port after the turn. Schriewer passed her during the home stretch along the Osage River. It was the only sub-par round shot during the week.
"I thought it was pretty nice. The layout is pretty fair," Schriewer said. "For the most part, the greens on one side of the golf course are really nice, then when you switch over to the River side, they were a little rough. It made putting a little bit more challenging, but actually, I 1-putted the last four holes, so I can't complain too much."
In the final round, Schriewer had 14 putts on each nine. She shot an even par on the Links, while Port had a 37 on the front. Going 2-under after the turn was indicative of how well Schriewer’s week went along the Osage.
A 2-shot swing on the 10th hole allowed Schriewer to make up more ground.
"I tried not to pay attention to anything that was going on. I just want to play good golf for myself," Schriewer said. "Let Ellen do her thing. She was going to do what she was going to do and I was trying to stay in my own bubble out there."
Port was still up by two with eight to go and took a stroke for an errand drive on No. 5 of the River. Schriewer 1-putted for a birdie and the two were tied.
Port was still up by two with eight to go and took a stroke for an errand drive on No. 5 of the River. Schriewer 1-putted for a birdie and the two were tied.
Schriewer then put her approach shot over water to within two feet of the cup on the next hole and sank another birdie putt to go 1-up.
“I made a few mistakes early,” Port said. “I didn’t get off to a really good start. I felt like I was a little tentative and that’s not the way to play golf. I was a little tentative and I made a couple of bad swings. I had four penalty strokes — a ball out of bounds and two in the water — and I made no putts. I had a chance even at that. Chelsea didn’t make any mistakes.”
Schriewer, 21, was a state champ in high school at Duchesne and has qualified for the Women’s U.S. Amateur the last three years. She will be a senior at the University of Missouri this fall.Port also played at Mizzou and remains one shy of tying the all-time record for wins in the Amateur. She won it four years in a row from 2000-03.
Playing in her third Amateur was Jennifer Holt, a member of the Old Kinderhook intercity group and a junior at Illinois Western University.
“This summer I’ve tried to work on my short game,” Holt said. “I don’t get to play this course very much ... I’ve seen it more than the other girls, so yes, I do have a little of an advantage.”
In the foursome with Holt was Dee Robertson, another Mid-Missouri standout. The pair played against one another at Seasons Ridge June 16 in intercity play. “That’s the thing about competition, you’ll always going to walk away knowing what areas you have to work on,” Holt said.
Robertson finished the tournament with a 259. Her low round for the tournament was 81 on Tuesday. Holt, who along with Robertson played in the C-flight Championship Division shot a 251 for the three-day tournament. Her best round was an 80 on Thursday.
Brooke Kelley of Camdenton played in the D-flight Chapionship Division. Kelley finished the tournament with a three day total of 294.
Placing third in the Open B-flight was Louwanna Bloom. Bloom plays intercity for Dogwood Hills and had her best finish ever in the MWGA Amateur. Bloom had the low net at the Senior Amateur a few years ago.
“The course staff and Ryan Manselle (golf pro), they’ve all been great,” Bloom said. “The volunteers, a lot of the women I play ladies league with, and their husbands, came out and gave their time through three hot, hot days. They’ve really taken care of us. It’s just been a great experience.”