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Senior Amateur
Kennedy and Hartwiger triumph in Senior Amateurs at Walton Heath
11 Jul 25
6 mins
England’s John Kennedy and Kathy Hartwiger from the United States of America enjoyed victories in The R&A Senior Amateur and Women’s Senior Amateur championships at Walton Heath.
Expect Hartwiger to play more golf in the British Isles in the future and Kennedy to give serious thought to early retirement. That much is clear after their respective successes in the glorious Surrey sunshine as the pair walked off with the champions’ gold medals on their debut appearances. Kennedy returned a closing 73 for an 11-under-par total of 277 and won by seven shots from the trio of Todd White and Danny Nelson from the USA and Ireland’s Jody Fanagan. Hartwiger ran out a three-shot winner over Ireland’s Tracy Eakin thanks to a one-over-par tally of 297. Kennedy can now look forward to playing among the world’s best senior professionals in the ISPS HANDA Senior Open at Sunningdale later this month. “This is easily my number one experience in golf by miles,” he said. “It feels a bit surreal and hasn’t sunk in yet. It’s a dream come true to think I’m going to be playing in the Senior Open with guys I’ve watched on TV for the last 40 years.”
John Kennedy won the Senior Amateur Championship by seven strokes.
The victory also earns him a spot in the US Senior Amateur Championship at Oak Hills Country Club in San Antonio, Texas next month. Hartwiger’s win comes with automatic qualification for the US Senior Women’s Amateur at Omni Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, Virginia in September.
Kennedy began with a seven-shot lead and soon extended that to eight when he found the putting surface of the driveable 262-yard, par-4 opening hole. A birdie followed and he seemed in complete control.
“I didn’t really have my game today,” he admitted. “I got off to a great start and thought 'I’m flying here'. Then my swing broke down in the middle of the round. But I managed my game really well. I never made a decision that was going to result in a double bogey. I also scrambled really well, which is hard under pressure.”
Kennedy works as a compliance manager for the Automobile Association and fits his competitive golf into his holidays. He added, “I’m going to have a long hard think about taking early retirement after this. I’ll wait and see what the next few months brings. It’s a good problem to have.”
It was Kennedy’s fourth consecutive victory following wins in the men’s Sottish Senior Amateur at Montrose, the Durham County Championship and the Consett & District Golf Club championship, which he won for the 14th time.
Hartwiger’s 54-hole lead wasn’t as large as Kennedy’s but it was a healthy four shots. It moved to six at one point on the front nine but had dwindled to two during a spell on the back nine when she bogeyed four straight holes from the 11th.
“There’s always pressure and tightening when you’re trying to win a golf tournament,” she said. “I did a lot of deep breathing and constantly reminded myself that we’ve all been through a lot of hard things, that this isn’t so hard, it’s not going to change my life and I’m loved. That’s what helped me get back on track.”
Kathy Hartwiger won The Women's Senior Amateur Championship at Walton Heath.
Hartwiger added, “This is pretty high on my list of achievements. I won a USGA championship (the 2002 US Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship) but this is special because it was my first experience of British golf. Plus, getting to go on this trip with my husband (Chris) to celebrate our 35th anniversary is special.
“There’s going to come a day when we won’t be able to do this and it will be special to look back on what we did together. The plan is to come back and play next year and hopefully a few more.”
Sue Wooster finished as the best player aged 60 or over. The 62-year-old Australian placed fourth. Former European Tour player Andy Stubbs took the prize for the best player over the age of 65 by placing equal 30th.
Full scores for The Senior Amateur Championship are available here.
Full scores for The Women's Senior Amateur Championship are available here.