Palm Harbor, Fla. - 84 Players made their way to Innisbrook Resort this week to take on the Copperhead Course and the
dreaded “Snake Pit”. Copperhead year in and year out continues to be one of the most difficult on the PGA Tour, being the home of the Valspar Championship. However, that was no match for our two victors, Susan Cohn (Senior) & Marianne Springer (Super-Senior).
Championship
32 players in the senior division were the first to test out how difficult the Copperhead course truly was. After round one, our 2020 champion Susan Cohn found herself in familiar territory being atop of the leaderboard with Suzanne Ricard. Both players fired rounds of 76 (+5) while Cohn was able to tame the Snake Pit, playing it in -1.
Throughout the next two rounds, it slowly turned into a two player race, with Ricard & Cohn distancing themselves from the pack. However, it was Susan Cohn who really started to separate herself. Playing her first five holes in -2, she was able to gain a few strokes on Ricard, who fired a second round of 79, while Cohn fired the tournament low 73 (+2).
While it looked like Susan Cohn was going to be the clear victor heading into the final round with a six shot lead, she began to feel the nerves in the middle of the final round. Her lead dwindled all the way down to one while Ricard remained steady and patient. With eight holes left and the Snake Pit awaiting, the tournament was still far from over. After building her lead back up to three shots, Cohn put the dagger in the tournament with a three wood on 16 going to about 6 feet, nailing her birdie putt to get the lead to four with two left to play. Pars on the last two gave her a five shot victory over Suzanne Ricard.
Notably, Susan Cohn played the Snake Pit in one-under par over the three days of golf, which proved to be the true difference maker in giving her yet another Women’s Senior Amateur Championship
Super-Senior
In the Super-Senior division, players arrived one day later than the Championship division, making it a 36-hole tournament for these ladies. 2023 Super-Senior Champion Marianne Springer fired an extremely impressive first round of 74 (+3). The 82-year-old continues to fire numbers well below her age, showing that she can still compete with the rest of them. Five shots behind was Laura Carson who also notably played the Snake Pit in even par round one.
During the final round, Springer continued her dominance and picked up right where she left off, with a birdie on her first hole (the 10th hole). However, after bogeying her next four holes, it was still very much a tossup between the two players. A birdie on the second and steady play the rest of the round built Springer’s lead back up to five shots, where she wound up winning her second Women’s Super-Senior Championship. In second place firing rounds of 79-79 was Laura Carson, while third place finisher, Kathy Malpass, rounded out the podium.
Field Divisions
Senior Field – Gross
First Place: Carol Watson, 85-84
Second Place: Maria Nilsson, 83-92
Third Place: Lisa Robinson, 90-89
Senior Field – Net
First Place: Maria Nilsson, 71-80
Second Place: Carol Watson, 77-76
Third Place: Karen Carter 82-74
Super-Senior Field – Gross
First Place: Janet Van Slyke, 82-84
Second Place: Debi Wohlers, 93-88
Third Place: Rita West, 93-88
Super-Senior Field – Net
First Place: Janet Van Slyke, 73-75
Second Place: Rita West, 79-74
Third Place: Debi Wohlers, 81-76
