Carol Robertson earns medalist honors at 87th VSGA Women’s Amateur Championship

Carol Robertson of Virginia Beach shot 2-under par 70 in the second round of qualifying to earn medalist honors at the 87th Virginia State Golf Association Women’s Amateur Championship.

The 28-year-old opened with a 5-under 67 on day one and finished qualifying at 7-under 137. She is the low qualifier for match play beginning Wednesday, July 11. Robertson is the only competitor to play two subpar rounds leading into the match play portion of the championship at the Golden Horseshoe Golf Club’s Gold Course.

“I’m really excited about how I’ve played over the last couple of days,” Robertson said in a press release. “I also know that match play is a totally different story and I know that I need to keep making birdies and stay steady.”

Robertson birdied three of the final four holes on day two to earn her first medal. Currently the head women’s golf coach at Old Dominion University, Robertson was joined in the top five by Elizabeth Brightwell, Hannah Pierce, Lauren Coughlin and Alex Wright. The 14-year-old Wright, a student at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., was runner-up at the Richmond Women’s Golf Association Championship in mid-June.

Seventeen of the 19 low qualifiers are age 21 or under. Two-time defending champion Amanda Steinhagen of Oak Hill finished qualifying in the 12th position at 8-over 152. If she can come back to win, she would be the first player to win three consecutive titles since Salem’s Lee Shirley accomplished the feat from 1996-98. Steinhagen is 20-years-old.

Thirty-two players advanced to match play. Seven players did not qualify to move on.

The quarterfinals will be played Thursday, July 12 with the championship final set for Friday, July 13 at Golden Horseshoe Golf Club’s Gold Course.

Filed under: SPORTS