A ‘hot stretch’ for Butler Country Club member Jane Wymer leads to surprising US Senior Women’s Amateur experience
PENN TWP — Success on the golf course is nothing new to Jane Wymer.
A 28-year Butler Country Club membership, a dozen BCC women’s club championships and the Butler Eagle County Amateur women’s title are among her accomplishments on the course.
But Wymer, 57, of Penn Township, admitted “the stars were definitely aligned” for her while golfing this summer.
She had never attempted to qualify for the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Championship before this year. Wymer participated in the July 22 qualifier at Edgewood Country Club and placed third. The top three finishers qualified for the Senior Amateur, which took place last weekend at the Omni Homestead Resort, Cascades Course, in Hot Springs, Va.
“I had played Edgewood before and figured, why not go for it,” Wymer said. “The (Edgewood) course wasn’t far from here and Hot Springs is only a five-hour drive from here. Just go give it a shot.
“There were 12 women scheduled to play in that qualifier. One of them, Carol Semple Thompson, one of the top women golfers in the region, dropped out for personal reasons.”
Six days after qualifying for the Senior Amateur, Wymer won the Western Pa. Golf Association Women’s Senior Amateur at Fox Chapel Golf Club after a round of 76 and a one-hole playoff.
Golfing at Butler Country Club two days after that, Wymer secured her third career hole-in-one.
“Definitely a hot stretch for me,” she said, laughing.
Wymer joined a field of 132 golfers in Hot Springs for two rounds of stroke play. The top 64 placers advanced to match play, which began Monday and will end Thursday.
Wymer shot 16-over-par in stroke play, tying for 50th on the leaderboard. She was officially slotted 52nd and took on 13th-place finisher Tara Joy-Connelly, of Middleborough, Mass., in the first match play round. She was eliminated at that point with a 3 and 2 loss.
“I was out there with the best female amateur golfers in the world,” Wymer said. “I was never freaked out by it or anything. I had no unrealistic expectations. Just go out there and play my game.
“My goal was to make the cut. It was a win.”
Wymer stood in 28th place after the first round.
“My putting was fantastic the entire way,” she said. “I sank a 30-footer on one hole to save par on that first day. Other players were complimenting me on my putting ability, and that meant a lot to me.”
Admitting she drove to the golf course “not knowing a soul there,” Wymer said she befriended people during the event.
She played a practice round with Judith Kyrinis, of Canada, who won the stroke play portion of the tournament at 1-over par. Her and Joy-Connelly chatted during their match play round.
“Just small talk, learning about each other’s families, things like that,” Wymer said. “Her (Joy-Connelly’s) husband is a PGA pro and was her caddy. He knew what he was talking about.
“The entire tournament was very cordial. It wasn’t cut-throat at all. They say golf is a sport for ladies and gentlemen, and that’s what this was. Everybody was pulling for everybody to do well.”
Wymer did not bring her own caddy. Chris Harden, 19, who works at the course, filled that role for her.
“He was great. I got very lucky there,” Wymer said.
While Wymer has competed in many match play golf events before, the Senior Amateur marked the first time she played in a tournament at such a high elevation.
“Beautiful golf course that ran through the mountains,” she said. “Playing at Butler Country Club, I wasn’t used to those types of hilly fairways. But the fairways were open. The course played fair.”
Wymer runs an insurance company. Despite her busy schedule, she plans on trying to qualify for the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur again.
“I felt like I made some friends there,” she said. “As we were leaving, golfers said they hope to see me again. It was a wonderful experience. Yeah, I’d love to do it again.”
