Houston Chronicle

Former champ back on track after tying for medalist honors

- By Richard Dean Richard Dean is a freelance writer.

With the relocation of the U.S Women’s Mid-Amateur Championsh­ip to Champions Golf Club from Florida and moved back from its original October date, 2015 winner Lauren Greenlief is playing role reversal with her caddie/ boyfriend Jeff Long.

Greenlief, 27, carried Long’s bag last month in the men’s Mid-Am in Atlanta. This week Long is the caddie for Greenlief.

The exchange is working out well. On Sunday, in the second and final round of stroke play, Greenlief shot a bogey-free 68 to share medalist honors with Katie Miller of Jeannette, Pa., and Marissa Mar of San Francisco at 2-under 142 heading into Monday’s first round of match play.

Ashley Freeman of Houston shared seventh at 1-over 145 after Sunday’s even-par round.

“I just wanted to post a good score and make sure I got a low seed for match play,” said Greenlief, 27, who two years ago became the youngest winner of this event. “It’s a marathon championsh­ip so you want to play well in stroke play and build momentum.”

Greenlief ’s 68 is a competitiv­e course record for women on the Cypress Creek Course, which is playing to a par 72 at a little more than 6,000 yards. The native of Ashburn, Va., opened with a 74 on Saturday.

“I never got it going yesterday,” said Greenlief, who played on two University of Virginia teams that placed fourth at nationals. “The game plan today was just be aggressive and fire at pins, and I did that.”

Greenlief birdied four holes but none on a par-5, making birdies on Nos. 7, 10, 14 and the par-3 16th. She made a 35-foot downhill putt on 7.

On 10, she hit a punch-draw with a 6-iron around a tree to within 20 feet. On 14, she hit a gap wedge inside 10 feet and, two holes later, a 9-iron shot to about 15 feet.

“I’ve played a lot of good golf this summer,” Greenlief said. “I took a leave of absence from work (as a management consultant) and played all of July and August and went back to work, and it’s been a little shaky the last couple of weeks trying to find my swing.

“But after playing four days in a row (counting two practice rounds), I’m coming into my own and things are starting to click.”

The round of 64 players for match play is Monday, followed by the second and third rounds Tuesday. Quarterfin­als and semifinals are Wednesday. The 18-hole championsh­ip final is Thursday.

The U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championsh­ip is one of 13 national championsh­ip conducted by the United States Golf Associatio­n, 10 are for amateurs.

Freeman, who played golf at Texas A&M, is competing in this event for the first time after focusing on her career as a CPA.

Freeman, 30, took up the sport again after joining Deerwood Golf Club in Kingwood two years ago.

“I started playing and I was like, well, I’m playing almost as good if not better than in college,” Freeman said. “Had to buy new clubs.”

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