It was championship Sunday today at Swope Memorial, as new Women’s Kansas City Match Play and Men’s Kansas City Match Play champions were both crowned.
In the morning, Lacy Shelton and Erin Carney squared off in the women’s match. Shelton got off to a slow start and found herself 2-down after bogeys on 2 out of the first 3 holes. She quickly squared the match with wins on the 5th and 6th holes, but double-bogeyed the 9th to make the turn at 1-down. A birdie at the 10th and a birdie at the 13th, however, turned the match in her favor, giving her a 1-up lead. The players would halve the last 5 holes, to give Shelton the 1-up win. Shelton is the first Women’s Kansas City Match Play champion since the event was discontinued in 1978.
In the men’s final, Travis Mays took on Scott Schaeffer for the title. Schaeffer, the #32 seed, had proven to be a very difficult man to eliminate over the three days of competition, but Mays was up to the task. Schaeffer jumped out to a quick 3-up lead, as Mays struggled to find his form early. Mays fought the lead back to 1-up at the turn, squared the match with a birdie on the 12th, and then went 1-up with a birdie on the 13th. Schaeffer never gave in, birdieing the 17th to force the match to the 18th, but ultimately Mays prevailed 1-up.
The KCGA would like to thank all that participated, as well as the staff at Swope Memorial and all of the KCGA volunteers that came out to help.