Brown and Hoops lead into final round of R&A Senior Amateur Championships
The R&A
09 Jul 26
4 mins
England’s Emma Brown stands just 18 holes away from joining an elite group of players to have won both the R&A Women’s Senior Amateur and the Women’s Amateur Championships.
The Malton & Norton member shares the 54-hole lead in the Women’s Championship on a four-over-par total of 224 alongside 2019 champion Lara Tennant of the United States. Kerry Smith of Waterlooville, who played alongside Brown on the 2002 Great Britain and Ireland Curtis Cup team, sits just one stroke back in third place.In the Senior Amateur Championship, Bryan Hoops of the United States, the world's top-ranked senior amateur, holds a narrow one-shot lead heading into the final round. Hoops sits on four-under-par 212, one stroke clear of compatriot and 2022 champion Mike McCoy.A close finish seemed unlikely after Brown’s blistering outward nine on the Red Course. She carded four birdies to go out in four-under-par 33, building a five-stroke advantage over Tennant at the turn.However, the back nine offered a much sterner test.Double bogeys at the 11th and 12th holes, followed by consecutive bogeys at the 14th and 15th, led to a back-nine 43.“It was a round of two halves,” said Brown, who made three Curtis Cup appearances during her distinguished amateur career. “I hit nice golf shots on the front nine and made a few putts for birdies. Then I only made two slight mistakes, nothing too drastic, but they resulted in double bogeys."“Those mistakes just came from nowhere. It can easily happen because it’s a difficult golf course. But I’m happy to be tied for the lead because I’d have taken that at the start of the week.”Should Brown capitalize on her position, she would join compatriots Angela Uzielli and Jill Thornhill as the only players to secure the historic double. Brown won the Women’s Amateur in 1994 at Newport, while Uzielli won the 1977 Amateur before claiming six senior titles. Thornhill won the Women’s Amateur in 1983 and added the Senior title a decade later.Tennant, a three-time US Senior Women’s Amateur champion, kept pace with a steady two-over-par 76 that featured two birdies and four bogeys.“Today was tough out there,” said Tennant, who lifted this trophy seven years ago at Royal St David’s. “There were a lot of challenging pin placements so I just tried to keep my head down and make pars. You’ve got to think about every shot here and hope to get some good bounces.”
Hoops holds on in the Senior Amateur Championship
In the Senior Amateur Championship, Hoops carded a one-under-par 71 to add to earlier rounds of 70 and 71. His lead might have been greater but for a double bogey at the 15th and a dropped shot at the last.“I hit it right where I wanted to today but got one bad break on 15 with a bad lie, and I made my first three-putt of the day at 18,” said the 57-year-old from Tempe, Arizona. “I can’t complain because I’ve played well the last three days.”Hoops, who sits at 308th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®), is making his second appearance in the championship after finishing 11th last year.“This is only my second time playing in this event and it’s a different form of golf for me," Hoops added. "There are different types of surfaces we’re hitting out of that I’m not used to in Arizona. It’s just a good test because the ball bounces all over the place.”His closest challenger is former Walker Cup player and captain Mike McCoy. The 2022 champion vaulted into contention with a superb five-under-par 67, ignited by a remarkable back-nine recovery. After a double bogey at the tenth and a bogey at the 11th, McCoy responded with five consecutive birdies before capping his round with an eagle at the 324-yard par-four 18th.“I drove it to 12 feet on the last and holed the putt, so that finish has helped me get back into it and given me a chance tomorrow,” McCoy said.View the leaderboards in full after round three:
