Stasi and Woodard Shoot 69 to Qualify for Sixth Straight U.S. Women's Four-Ball

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By Nick Hunter
nick@mngolf.org
 
 
  STILLWATER, Minn. – Rolling in three birdies during their final 11 holes Monday, the twosome of Meghan Stasi and Dawn Woodard carded a 3-under 69 at StoneRidge Golf Club to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship for the sixth consecutive season.
 
Stasi and Woodard advanced from a field of six teams Monday and are looking for redemption after missing the cut for the first time in five appearances last year at Timuquana Country Club in Jacksonville, Fla.
 
“It was a grind—it was tough. The pins we thought were tough and we felt like we had to be patient. We had a lot of putts inside of 12 feet that we didn’t make. We felt like the back nine was a little more difficult than the front and finally got one on 17 that we thought [would be enough],” Woodard said Monday.
 
“It was just steady. We had a lot of chances and we kind of mapped it out in a practice round and tried to put ourselves on the greens where we knew we had an uphill chance at it,” said Stasi. “It’s very exciting. [The tournament] is back in Florida and I’m from Florida.
 
Both seasoned veterans when it comes to playing on a national scale, Stasi and Woodard will certainly be among the favorites at the national championship April 25-29 at Quail Creek Country Club in Naples, Fla., as the two have a pair of International Four-Ball wins together.
 
Stasi, 41, from Oakland Park, Fla., is a 2000 graduate of Tulane University and spent seven seasons as head coach at Ole Miss. She’s claimed four U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur victories (2006, 2007, 2010, 2012) and seven Philadelphia Women’s Amateur titles.
 
She’s also played in four U.S. Women’s Opens and was a member of the winning Team USA at the Curtis Cup in 2008 at famed St. Andrews.
 
Woodard, a 45-year-old from Greer, South Carolina, grew up playing varsity golf as the only female on the boys’ team in Nichols, S.C. She is a three-time stroke play medalist at the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship with more than 30 appearances at USGA championships.
 
Stasi and Woodard advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2015 championship at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Bandon, Ore., and they’ve twice reached the Round of 16.
 
On Monday, Stasi rolled in her birdie look at the par-4 eighth hole as the two would turn in 1-under before Woodard carded her first birdie of the round at the par-4 10^th, pushing the two to 2-under.
 
A birdie at the par-5 17^th proved to be more than enough cushion as Stasi and Woodard would earn a two-stroke victory at 3-under 69 to claim the only qualifying postion.
 
Brooke Biermann, Wildwood, Mo., and Makenzie Niblett, Austin, Texas, posted a 1-under 71 to finish as first alternates, while Minnesotans Aayushi Sarkar and Camille Kuznik finished as second alternates at even par 72.