WELLESLEY, Mass. – Ellen Port moved into position for her third U.S. Senior Women's Amateur title and seventh USGA championship, winning two matches Wednesday on her 55th birthday to reach the final.
Port, from St. Louis, beat Lisa Schlesinger of Laytonsville, Maryland, 2 and 1 in the quarterfinals at Wellesley Country Club and outlasted Laura Coble of Augusta, Georgia, in 19 holes in the semifinals.
Port won in 2012 and 2013 after taking U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur titles in 1995, 1996, 2000 and 2011. She will face 55-year-old Andrea Kraus of Baltimore in the final.
Kraus needed extra holes in both matches, topping Canada's Judith Kyrinis in 21 holes in the quarterfinals and Karen Garcia of Cool, California, in 19 holes in the semifinals.
Port pulled even with Coble with a birdie win on the par-3 15th, halved the par-4 16th and par-5 17th and 18th with pars and won with a par on the par-4 19th. In the quarterfinals, Port finished off Schlesinger with a par win on 17.
Kraus squared the match with Garcia with a par win on 17, halved the 18th with a bogey and won with a par on the first extra hole. In the quarterfinals, Kraus won the 14th and 15th to tie Kyrinis, and ended it with a par win on the 21st.
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