This week marks the 60th anniversary of a golf tournament that may have faded from memory for most. On August 16, 1963, sixteen-year-old Janis Jean Ferraris from San Francisco emerged victorious in the final of the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship at Wolferts Roost, defeating Peggy Conley from Spokane, Washington, 2-up. This tournament holds particular significance as it remains the only U.S. Golf Association national championship ever held in the Capital Region. Following the event, several players from the record 121-player field crossed state lines to compete in the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Taconic in Williamstown, Massachusetts.
Ferraris and Conley were co-medalists in the qualifying round, each setting a women’s course record at the Roost with a score of 74 on the par-72, 6,002-yard setup. Both players went on to have successful careers in the LPGA, with Ferraris being named the tour’s Rookie of the Year in 1969.
One notable aspect of the tournament was the participation of Gail Sykes, a fifteen-year-old from Schenectady who qualified for the 32-player championship flight. Described by then-Times Union golf writer Johnny Jones as a “wise-cracking” teenager who learned her golf skills from Tom Creavy at Saratoga Spa, Sykes unfortunately lost her first-round match. However, she rebounded two years later by winning the Girls’ Junior title in Evergreen, Colorado. Sykes went on to achieve further success, becoming the 1964 State Girls’ Junior champion, the 1968 national collegiate individual champion while playing for Odessa College, and ultimately joining Ferraris at Odessa, known as the “Houston of Women’s Golf.”
Another notable participant in the Girls’ Junior field was Suzanne Chaffee, a seventeen-year-old from Rutland, Vermont, who later gained fame as an Olympic skier and as the face of ChapStick in their commercials during the 1970s.
The tournament also featured several other well-known players who went on to achieve success in the LPGA and beyond. Jane Blalock from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, emerged as a winner of 27 LPGA titles, while Sandra Post from Oakville, Ontario, captured two LPGA majors and a total of eight tour victories. Roberta Albers from Tampa, Florida, enjoyed a ten-year career on the LPGA Tour, and Carol Semple from Sewickley, Pennsylvania, claimed victories in both the U.S. Women’s Amateur and the British Amateur. Lancy Smith from Snyder, New York, also made her mark, winning seven state championships, including three Amateur titles and four Senior Amateur titles.
On a local level, Lorri Stuhler and Dianne Wilde, both from Antlers, competed at the Roost and later went on to claim multiple Northeastern Women’s Golf Association championships.
While the Capital Region has hosted numerous exciting tournaments over the years, including state championship events and charity skins games, the return of a USGA national championship would undoubtedly be a welcome addition.
In other news, Bob Cooper of Orchard Creek had an impressive performance, tying for fourth place in the New York State Golf Association’s Super Senior Amateur at En-Joie in Endicott. He finished just three shots behind the winner, Phillip Stegemann of Crag Burn. Additionally, former Siena basketball player Kyle Downey, who plays out of Oak Hill in Rochester, emerged victorious in the New York State Golf Association’s 100th Men’s Amateur at Wykagyl. Unfortunately, Jim Gifford of Mohawk was the only player from the Capital Region to make the 46-player cut, finishing 39th.
Kennedy Swedick from Albany celebrated her first American Junior Golf Association tournament title, securing a five-stroke victory in North Salem, Westchester County, with an impressive 7-under-par 209. The Northeastern New York PGA also announced its junior golf Players of the Year in various age categories.
Steve Vatter, the pro at Capital Hills, gained a berth into the PGA Senior Professional Championship with his runner-up finish in the Senior Stroke Play event at Berkshire Hills. He will be joining Jeremy Kerr from Mohawk and Tom Oppedisano, the coach at Skidmore, in the national event taking place in Port St. Lucie, Florida from October 26-29. Additionally, assistant pros Mike Shine from Schuyler Meadows and Eddie Cano from Pittsfield are now official members of the NENYPGA.
Moving on to club news, Abbie Laime became the women’s club champion at Ballston Spa, while Dave Champagne claimed the men’s club championship at Copake. Mary Kruchinski emerged as the women’s club champion at McGregor, and Shea Bromirski seized the men’s club championship at Mechanicville. Keegan Zoeller is the new club champion at Pioneer Hills, and Dan Fitzpatrick claimed the senior men’s club championship at Wolferts Roost.
In other golf-related news, Lilia Vu, the winner of the 2021 Twin Bridges Championship, now holds the title of the top-ranked women’s golfer in the world. Vu, hailing from Fountain Valley, California, secured her second major victory of the season at the Women’s British Open.
All in all, the golf world is abuzz with exciting tournaments, achievements, and notable accomplishments.
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