Port, Fitzgerald advance to title match

HERSHEY, Pa. – Ellen Port and Jane Fitzgerald advanced to the championship match Wednesday in the

USGA Senior Women's Amateur at Hershey Country Club.

The 50-year-old Port, from St. Louis, rallied to beat Carolyn Creekmore of Dallas 1-up in the morning quarterfinals, and routed Lecia Alexander of Stafford, Texas, 6 and 4 in the semifinals.

Port, a four-time U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur champion, finished off Creekmore by hitting her approach to 6 inches to set up a birdie on the final hole.

"Every match has its own character," Port said. "I stayed in the moment. I didn't have a lot of feel around the greens. I had some uncharacteristic shots for me with wedges in my hand. I tried not to get frustrated with myself and I did a pretty good job of that. I let the bad shots go and knew that I had some good ones in me."

The 50-year-old Fitzgerald, from Kensington, Md., topped Joan Higgins of Glendora, Calif., 2-up in the quarterfinals, and beat qualifying medallist Lisa Schlesinger of Laytonsville, Md., 4 and 3 in the semifinals.

"This makes me feel great," said Fitzgerald, a graduate of nearby Penn State. "I've been playing a long time with this dream. I hit the ball better this afternoon. I felt more confident."