Tara Fleming Medalist At U.S. Senior Am Qualifier At Forest Hill
Tara Fleming of New Jersey National, a resident of Jersey City, continued her fine play this month and on Tuesday (August 15) claimed medalist honors at the Sectional Qualifying Round of the U.S. Women’s Senior Amateur contested at Forest Hill Field Club in Bloomfield.
Fleming fired an even-par 72 to take the medal and secure her spot in the U.S. Women’s Senior Amateur Championship to be played Sept. 9-14 at Waverly Country Club in Portland, Ore.
Jane Fitzgerald of Kensington, Md., was runner-up with 74. The top six women in the field of 24 advanced to Waverly, with two alternates.
Denise Martorano of Sage Harbor, N.Y. was third at 78. Tied for fourth and also earning spots were Adrienne MacLean of Basking Ridge and Somerset Hills C.C., who is making her second appearance in the championship, Jen Holland of Branford, Conn., and 66-year-old Lindsey Wortham of Richmond, making her eighth appearance.
Alternates are Leeann Lewis of West Babylon, N.Y., (80), and Barbara Pagano of Selinsgrove, Pa. (81).
“I am very excited about going to the Senior Amateur in Oregon. I turned 50 on Jan. 25 and have been looking forward to this,” said Fleming. “I am familiar with the area. I played in college at the University of New Mexico and played on the West Coast many times. I am ecstatic about going back.”
Fleming said her game plan was easy.
“I tried to keep it simple. I wanted to hit it into the middle of the fairways and greens. I hit 13 greens. I just wanted to play boring golf and not be too aggressive,” she said.
Fleming had a recent practice round and a long-time member pointed out the proper places to place her shots at Forest Hill.
“I played here about five years ago and when I stood on the tee boxes, the holes were recognizable,” said Fleming, who recorded three birdies and three bogeys.
The birdies came on the par-3 No. 5 (where she drained a 35-footer), the par-4 No. 9 and the par-5 No. 13, which usually plays as a par-4. Her best up-and-down came on the par-3 No. 16 when she blocked her tee shot to the right, and chipped over a bunker to 10 feet.
“I’ve played at Waverly in a USGA a long time ago,” said MacLean, 52. “I’m ecstatic about going back there. I’m always excited to play in a USGA event.”
In the Fourth NJSGA Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship two weeks ago at Somerset Hills Country Club in Bernardsville, Fleming fired a two-over-74 for a 158 total to win the event by two shots over MacLean (77-160).
Fleming also won the 2015 NJSGA Mid-Amateur, becoming the first to win the event twice.
Last October, Fleming won her match in the prestigious MGA/WMGA French-American Challenge at Stanwych Club in Connecticut.
Fleming is a former LPGA Tour player and native of Canada,was part of the New Jersey team that won the U.S. Women’s National Team championship in 2014 with Alice Chen and Cindy Ha of Valley Brook.
After winning the NJSGA Mid-Amateur, she went on to participate in the NJSGA Amateur and won in the Round of 16 before losing in the quarterfinals.
