Kaitlyn Schroeder of Jacksonville broke out of a five-way first-round tie last Friday and wound up running away with the First Coast Women’s Amateur by five shots at Sawgrass Country Club.
The 16-year-old opened with a 1-over-par 73 on Thursday and found herself in a pack that included Atlantic Coast High School graduate Ramya Meenakshisundaram and Nease High graduate Marissa Cardenas, as well as Maria Beatriz Arizaga and 15-year-old McKenzee Sullivan of St. Petersburg.
When Schroeder putted out on the 18th hole for a 72 and 145 total, she was the new First Coast Women’s Amateur champion, with Sarah Edwards (75-75–150) and Ailsa Clark (76-74–150) sharing runner-up honors.
Finishing fourth was Meenakshisundaram (73-78–151). Arizaga (73-79–152) rounded out the top five.
Brooks Rehabilitation was the tournament’s presenting sponsor for the sixth year in a row.
For the fifth year in a row, the Amateur was an official event on the Jacksonville Area Golf Association tournament schedule, with JAGA playing a supporting role in the operation and promotion of the championship.
On a typically windy day over the challenging Sawgrass East/West nines, Schroeder slid backwards in the early going, bogeying holes 4, 5 and 7. The home-schooled daughter of University of North Florida men’s golf coach Scott Schroeder kicked things into gear from there with a bounce-back birdie at No. 8. It was followed by two more at Nos. 11 and 15 and pars on the other eight.
“This is my hometown,” Schroeder said. “It’s a great feeling to win this tournament. Then to win it at Sawgrass is really special. It was tough … the wind was swirling, and this course is never easy.”
Cardenas, who attends the University of South Florida, finished in ninth place, shooting 73-82–155.
The two-time Florida Junior Girls (ages 13-15) champion’s busy summer of golf continues in the coming weeks with the AJGA Polo Junior Classic at Liberty National in New Jersey, AJGA Wyndham Cup, U.S. Girls’ Junior, the Junior PGA and a match-play tournament on her schedule.
In the Senior division, Kim Keyer-Scott of Estero (77-74–151) took home the title after parring her last eight holes. Scott was named the 2020 FSGA Women’s Senior Player of the Year and has continued her strong play into 2021, winning the FSGA Women’s Senior Amateur
Championship at St. Johns Golf & Country Club in April and finishing runner-up at the Women’s Southern Golf Association (WSGA) Mid-Amateur Championship in early June. Lin Culver of Palm Coast (76-76–152) finished a shot back. Past champions Tama Caldabaugh (77-78–155) and Therese Quinn (76-79–155) tied for third.
Nancy Smith of Venice (81-80–161) won the Super-Senior division by eight shots over Shirley Budden (81-88–169). Smith has an impressive competitive golf resume that includes four North-South Senior Championship titles, three Women’s Southern Golf Association Senior Championship titles and three Women’s Eastern Golf Association Senior Championship titles.
“The 2021 First Coast Women’s Amateur was an incredible showcase of the strength of women’s golf in Northeast Florida,” said Susie Fonde, 2021 FCWA Committee chair. “We are so appreciative of the team and membership at Sawgrass Country Club for serving as our host course, our presenting sponsor Brooks Rehabilitation for its continued partnership, all of our incredible competitors and, last but not least, the team of volunteers and community members who helped make the 2021 FCWA possible. We look forward to continuing to grow this championship for many years to come while promoting and elevating women’s golf in our area.”
The First Coast Women’s Amateur committee also announced that charitable donations would be made to three local organizations, the Moore-Myers Children’s Fund, the North Florida Junior Golf Foundation and the JAGA Scholarship Trust. “Eagle” participants from the Moore-Myers Children’s Fund came to Sawgrass Country Club to watch the final round and meet with participants and the champion.
Complete tournament results are available at fcwa2021.golfgenius.com.
NOTE: Reporting by Garry Smits of the Florida Times-Union was used to produce this recap.
