Klasse Wins 17th Title as a Senior with Victory at MGA Senior Women's Amateur at Crow River

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By Nick Hunter
nick@mngolf.org


  HUTCHINSON, Minn. – Since becoming eligible to play in state women’s senior events in 2010, Leigh Klasse has racked up 16 victories. She’s won six of the last seven Minnesota Women’s Public Golf Association State Senior Public Links Championships, as well as six of the last seven Minnesota Senior Women’s State Amateur titles. Throw in four victories at the Women’s Senior Four-Ball Championship and it all adds up to a Minnesota Golf Hall of Fame career.

With a 36-hole performance of 7-over par 151 at Crow River Golf Club, Klasse earned her 17th title with a three-shot victory over Claudia Pilot Tuesday to win the 2017 Minnesota Golf Association Senior Women’s Amateur Championship.

“The [Senior Women’s Amateur] means a lot to me. I have a lot of good peers in this state and I feel like it’s tough competition,” Klasse said following her win Tuesday. “I treasure each one of them and like to think that I work hard on my game. I came back from the U.S. Senior Am and had a strong showing there, so I was pumped up to play in this.

“I felt relaxed today and hit a lot of greens, but I just didn’t make any putts. The putter was just not there today. It was kind of a game of patience today; I felt like I was hitting some good shots into the greens and having good looks.”

Opening the championship with a round of 1-over par 73 Monday, Klasse held a sizable seven-stroke lead over Betsy Aldrich entering the final round Tuesday. Despite pair of early bogeys, Klasse settled in to a solid front nine, giving herself several birdies looks, but was unable to get her putts to fall.

She missed a 15-footer on the opening hole and left her birdie putt on the edge of the cup at the par-4 third. After two missed birdie looks inside of 10 feet at both the sixth and seventh holes, Klasse would turn at 2-over for the round, while maintaining a six-shot advantage over Pilot with nine holes to play.

“Three three-putts is unusual—I can’t explain that. The course is in great shape and the greens were rolling really nice, but I just never seemed to get comfortable with the speed today.”

A three-putt bogey put Klasse at the 12th put Klasse at 4-over for the championship before she was able to get her lone birdie of the round to fall at the par-4 15th. Klasse would struggle late with a double-bogey and two bogeys over the final three holes, but managed to hang on and defeat Pilot by three strokes.

“I never like to finish that way—4-over on the last three holes is not a good finish,” Klasse said. “I thought I hit the ball well, but just had a couple of errant shots and couldn’t get the putter going.”

Tuesday’s victory comes on the heels of a strong performance at the 2017 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Championship last week at Waverley Country Club in Portland, Ore., where Klasse advanced to match play for the eighth consecutive year, reaching the Round of 16 for a third time.

In the process, Klasse is all but assured MGA Senior Women’s Player of Year honors for an eighth consecutive season, pulling within one of Nancy Harris’ mark of earning top honors nine times since the award was first given in 1994.

With a trophy case packed full of hardware, Klasse said being recognized as the state’s best senior player has meant the most during her storied career.

“It’s a culmination of the whole year and all of the events,” she said. “It means that you’ve played at a high level. That means more to me—to be consistent and stay at that high level.”

Claudia Pilot (2007-09) and JoAnne Lindsay (1995, 2003) are the only other players to win the award multiple times. Klasse is also a four-time MGA Women’s Player of the Year recipient (1995, 2007, 2009, 2011).

Pilot, who grew up in Hutchinson, Minn., fired the low round of the second round Tuesday with a 1-over par 73 to finish three shots back of Klasse in second place at 154.

Opening with a round of 81 Monday, Pilot bounced back with one bogey nullified by one birdie on her opening nine Tuesday before playing a steady back nine, carding a lone bogey to finish with a final-round 73.