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RECORDS/HISTORY

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RECORDS/HISTORY

RECORDS/HISTORY

Performances for the Ages

Ruth Torgerson, a lawyer from Garden City, established herself as New York State’s most respected woman golfer of the 1940s. Torgerson claimed her first New York State Women’s Amateur Championship title in 1946 at her home course, Cherry Valley Golf Club. She successfully defended in 1947 at Leewood CC, then followed that with three more consecutive NYSGA championship titles, compiling a NYSGA record that stands to this day.

Margaret Nevil approached Ruth Torgeson’s NYSGA Women’s Amateur Championship record by capturing the event four times in five years: 1958, ’59. ’60 and ’62. She later added the NYSGA Women’s Senior Amateur trophy to her collection with a win in 1979.

Buffalo native Lancy Smith won her first Women’s state Amateur Championship in 1966 at age 18, then went on to take home the trophy again in 1969 and 1970. Smith’s impact wasn’t confined to New York, with many appearances on the national scene. The former dental technician won the 1974 Women’s Western Amateur and Women’s Eastern Amateur (1970, ’71, ‘73, ’74) championships. Coupled with her participation in numerous USGA events, Smith was recognized by Golf Digest magazine as one of the U.S.’s top ten amateurs a dozen years from 1970 to 1984 – taking the top spot in 1980. Smith was a starting member of five Curtis Cup squads (1972, ’76, ’78, ’80 and ’82) an alternate on four more.

Dottie Pepper, from Saratoga Springs, won both the New York State Girls’ Junior and Women’s Amateur Championships in 1981, when she was only 15. The only female player to accomplish that dual victory, Pepper earned a golf scholarship to Furman University, then joined the LPGA and became New York’s most decorated professional golfer, with 17 tour wins, including two LPGA majors.

Mary Anne Widman was Pepper’s successor in the Women’s Amateur in 1982 and ’83. A three time All-American at Duke University, member of the U.S. Curtis Cup squad and considered the country’s top amateur, Widman turned professional in and earned non-exempt status on the LPGA in 1985. She then played on the Futures Tour ranks in 1986 and ’87.

Moira Dunn, a national-level amateur and eventual LPGA tour member from Utica, captured three straight Women’s State Amateur Championships in 1992, ’93 and ’94. These wins validated her 1989 New York State Junior Girls Championship promise. The Florida International All-American turned pro in 1994.

In 2002, 13-year-old Megan Grehan, from Westchester Country Club, captured the Women’s Amateur at Pinehaven Country Club. In doing so, she not only became the youngest Women’s Am titleist, she was so dominant that she never stepped past the 15th green. Then, as though putting an exclamation point on her first victory, 14-year-old Megan defended successfully in 2003, this time never reaching the 15th tee.

Christy Schultz captured four state titles in four years, winning the NYSGA Women’s Amateur in both 2007 and ‘08, then the 2009 and ’10 Women’s Mid-Amateur championships. A decade later, Schultz picked up two more Mid-Ams in 2021 and ’22.

2021 Women’s Amateur champion Kyra Cox picked up where she was before the 2020 Covid 19-induced break in competition – on top. Cox captured the Women’s Amateur at Teugega Country Club, just as she had prevailed before in 2015 and ‘18.

In 2022, Kennedy Swedick needed every shot to take home the trophy at McGregor Links Country Club with a nine-under 207, good for a one-shot victory over junior Lauren Peter. The two finished each round within a shot of each other for all 54 holes and were a staggering 15 shots in front of the rest of the pack.

More Than a Tournament

The NYSGA Women’s Amateur Championship is so much more than a golf tournament. It is an almost century-old celebration of women’s golf and a showcase of our state’s remarkable talent, sportsmanship and remarkable venues. The NYSGA is proud to honor its past champions and welcome its future ones as it continues to uphold its mission to both serve golfers across New York State and annually identify the best player among them.

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