ERIE, Pa. – Julia Potter won the U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur for the second time in four years Thursday, beating Shannon Johnson 2 and 1 at The Kahkwa Club.
Potter, a 28-year-old reinstated amateur from Indianapolis, also won the 2013 event for players 25 and older and finished second in 2014.
The only female left-handed champion in USGA history, Potter is the fifth multiple champion, joining Sarah LeBrun Ingram (1991, 1993, 1994), Ellen Port (1995, 1996, 2000, 2011), Meghan Stasi (2006, 2007, 2010, 2012) and Carol Semple Thompson (1990, 1997).
Potter played at the University of Missouri and is the director of marketing for the Indiana Golf Office. The 33-year-old Johnson, from Norton, Massachusetts, played at New Mexico and Indiana and works as a sales representative for Ping golf equipment.
Johnson won four consecutive holes — all with pars — to square it with three holes to play on the Donald Ross-designed course. On the par-3 15th, Potter made a double bogey after hitting into a bunker and Johnson two-putted for par.
Potter won the par-4 16th with a 10-foot birdie putt. The match ended on the par-4 17th when Johnson missed a 3-foot par putt and Potter made a 2 1/2-footer for par.
Potter and Johnson were co-medalists in stroke-play qualifying and the first two top seeds to meet in the final in the history of the event. Potter also won as the medalist in 2013.
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