The 22nd Maryland State Women’s Open Championship was held October 13th and 14th at Kenwood Golf & Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland. Professional and Amateurs competed in the competition for the championship trophy. The amateurs were also in competition for the coveted Campbell Cup, which was donated in 2014 to the MSGA-WD by Bob Morris from Congressional CC to honor the low amateur champion. The professional purse was $15,000, with a first-place prize of $3,000. In addition to the players competing for the championship trophy, senior players competed for the low professional senior and the low amateur senior prizes.
It was a beautiful day when the tournament began on Wednesday, with temperatures in the low 70’s. With conditions nearly perfect, three players were able to shoot under par. Joanna Coe (p), a teaching professional at Baltimore Country Club, and Bi Shin (p), from Winter Garden, Florida, both shot two-under par to share the lead after day one. Coe and Shin each made three birdies and both only made one bogey. Following the leaders, Ashley Grier (p), 2006 and 2014 champion, was able to finish the round at one-under par. Emma Jandel (p) and Melissa Siviter (p) were both able to shoot even par to round out the top 5 after the first round. Kavita Sehmi (a) was in the lead for the Campbell Cup after round one by shooting one-over par. Caroline Ciot (p) was able to make an eagle on the seventh hole and fished the first round tied for eighth.
In the Senior Professional Division, Diana Rama (p), an LPGA teaching professional from Pennsylvania, was able to finish the first round with a 74. Right behind her was Liza Abood (p), a teaching professional at Olney Golf Park, who shot a 75. Deborah Bosdosh was able to make an eagle on the seventeenth hole to finish in 5th place after round one. In the Senior Amateur Division, Kimbra Benson and Shawn McCullough tied for first after the first round. Kimbra Benson (a) won the Senior Amateur earlier this year at Oak Creek Club and was looking to add another win to her resume this year.
The Senior Division players were the first to arrive at the scoring table on day two. For the amateur division, Kimbra Benson (a) from Breton Bay Golf & C.C. clinched the first-place title with a two-day total of 160. Coming in second was Shawn McCullough (a) of Norbeck Country Club with a score of 164, followed by Bev Lane (a) from Congressional Country Club with a score of 167. For the professional division, Diana Rama (p), was able to hold on to her first round lead and claimed the first-place title with a two-day total of 151. Coming in second was Susan Bond (p), a PGA professional, with a score of 154, followed by Liza Abood (p) with a score of 156.
With a one shot difference going after the first day, the battle between Kavita Sehmi (a) of The C.C. at Woodmore in Mitchellville, MD and Clare Connolly (a) of Chevy Chase Club in Chevy Chase, MD continued on to the second day. Connolly recently made it to the quarterfinals in the U.S. Women’s Mid Amateur at Berkeley Hall Club, and was looking to win her first Campbell Cup. Sehmi shot a 72/74 and Connolly shot a 73/74. This was the first time Kavita Shemi has won the Open’s Low Amateur and she is the second player in a row to have played golf at the University of Maryland and win the Campbell Cup. To finish out the top three, Micca Thomas (a), from Crofton Country Club, shot a two-day total of 158.
For the professional field, Emma Jandel was the first-place winner with a total two-day score of 139. Jandel was able to make four birdies and only one bogey, allowing her to shoot three-under par 68 which was the low round for the whole tournament. Two-time Women’s Open champion Ashley Grier finished in second place with a score of 141. Melissa Siviter followed with a total score of 143. One of the leaders after the first day, Bi Shin earned fourth place with a total score of 144. Louise Olsson and Caroline Ciot tied for fifth place with a score of 145. The other leader after the first day, Joanna Coe, earned seventh place with a 147, and eighth place was shared by Napatthorn Paksanont and Megan Leineweber, who made an eagle on the seventh hole, finished with a score of 148. Rounding out the top ten was Linda Wang, who made an eagle on the 18th hole, finishing with a total score of 149.
Emma Jandel’s total score of 139, the lowest of the event, won her the Open Championship title. Jandel was awarded the $3,000 cash prize, as well as an MSGA-WD flag signed by all of the players. Her name will also be engraved on the permanent Women’s Open trophy. This was Jandel’s first Maryland State Women’s Open win.
Overall, the players truly enjoyed playing at Kenwood Golf & Country Club, which has previously hosted other MSGA tournaments including the Women’s Amateur Championship, the Women’s Mid-Am Championship, and the Girl’s Junior Championship. Many thanks to head golf professional Lynne Hunter and her entire staff for making the 2021 Women’s Open a great success.
The 2022 Women’s Open Championship will be hosted at Chevy Chase Club in October; specific dates TBD.
