Coloradan Sydney Gillespie lands final spot in match play at U.S. Women’s Mid-Am, but falls in round of 64 to a co-medalist
By Gary Baines – 9/9/2024
Sydney Gillespie of Highlands Ranch earned the 64th and final spot in match play at the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur by making a par on the first extra hole to win a 4-for-1 playoff. For that, she landed a round-of-64 matchup with one of the two stroke-play co-medalists in West Newton, Mass., Jacqueline Setas of East Lansing, Mich.
Suffice it to say it wasn’t an easy draw.
Setas, 28 and a former Michigan State golfer, defeated Gillespie, who played her college golf at Creighton, 4 and 3 on Monday, ending the Coloradan’s run in the final 64.
Gillespie never led in the match, but was tied through four holes. Then Setas won three of four holes from 5-8, all with pars, to go 3 up. Gillespie made a birdie on No. 10 to cut her deficit to 2 down, but Setas won 11 with a par and never lost another hole, closing things out with a winning par on No. 15.
Gillespie ended up 10 over par for the 15 holes of the match, while Setas was 3 over.
The Women’s Mid-Amateur is limited to players 25 and older.
Results for Coloradans at the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur in West Newton, Mass.:
ROUND OF 64 MONDAY
Jacqueline Setas, East Lansing, Mich., def. Sydney Gillespie, Highlands Ranch, 4 and 3
STROKE PLAY SATURDAY AND SUNDAY
64. Sydney Gillespie, Highlands Ranch 79-84–163
Missed cut. Shannon Lubar, Denver 83-89–172
Missed cut. Janet Moore, Greenwood Village 86-95—181
For all the scores, CLICK HERE.
About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com