Jennifer Thompson picked the best time for her only lead, rolling in a 15-foot putt on the 18th green for a 1-up victory over Theresa Paik in their semifinal match of the 80th Maryland State Women's Amateur Championship at the Elkridge Club yesterday.
Thompson, who plays from Chestnut Ridge Country Club, will face 1997 champion Mallory Crosland, from the Chevy Chase Club, in this morning's 18-hole final. Crosland defeated Jessica Lewis, Columbia CC, 6 and 4.
Paik, 15, from Indian Spring CC, and backed by 1 1/2 years at David Leadbetter's golf school in Florida, was solid in twice going 2-up, but Thompson squared the match by running off six straight pars leading to the last hole.
At the 526-yard test, both reached the green in three, and Paik's putt from 20 feet was two feet short. Thompson was hole- high left and putted uphill.
"I had some errant drives in the middle of the round that cost me, and after that it came down to a couple of putts," said Thompson, winner of the Greiner Cup and a participant in the Trans National tournament earlier in the summer.
Natalie McNicholas and Amy Pappas each won twice and will play for the first flight title.
MSGA Women's Amateur
Championship flight
Quarterfinals: Theresa Paik, Indian Spring, def. Jane Fitzgerald, unattached, 1-up; Jennifer Thompson, Chestnut Ridge, def. Erin Clasper, Congressional, 5 and 4; Jessica Lewis, Columbia, def. Corrie Tayman, Congressional, 4 and 3; Mallory Crosland, Chevy Chase, def. Arlene Zamora, 6 and 5. Semifinals: Thompson d. Paik, 1-up; Crosland d. Lewis, 6 and 4.
