Marcy Newton

Marcy Newton, 22, of High Point, N.C., defeated Laura Myerscough, 20, of Charleston, Ill., 8 and 7, to win the 100th United States Women's Amateur Championship at the 6,242-yard, par 71, Waverley Country Club course.

Newton thus became only the sixth player to have won the Women's Amateur and the U.S. Girls' Junior Championship, which she captured in 1995.

The others were Dorothy Delasin, Kelli Kuehne, Pat Hurst, JoAnne Gunderson Carner and Patricia Lesser. "I think everybody that plays golf at this level, they dream of winning both of those championships," said Newton. "I'm so lucky to have won both of them."

Newton began the scheduled 36-hole final with birdies on the second and third holes to go 2- up and was never stalled in her quest to add the Women's Amateur title to her resume. She was 6 up after 18 holes.

Myerscough struggled valiantly in the afternoon. She birdied the 19th hole to pull with five holes of Newton, but Newton again birdied the 20th and 21st holes, as she had in the morning, to go 7 up. Another birdie at the 23rd hole gave her an 8-up lead.

Newton was still 8 up at the 27th hole when she conceded Myerscough's three-foot par putt for a half.

"I felt like she was struggling all day," said Newton. "She had missed two short ones. I was 8 up with ten holes to play. I didn't want to go just one more up because of that little putt. I just felt like that was the right thing to do."

With the usual match play concessions Newton was even par on the day.

"Marcy didn't give up," said Myerscough. "She played solid golf the whole way. She hit her driver dead straight like every shot. My timing wasn't there. I was a little tight. I was warmed up but just wasn't feeling my rhythm very well."

Newton got off to a rough start early in the championship. She triple bogeyed the first hole in Monday's opening stroke-play qualifying round, then bogeyed the third hole.

"I'm four over after three holes," said Newton. "I'm not sitting pretty right now. After I told Martha Leach (a fellow competitor) that I triple bogeyed the first hole, she told me every day I saw her, 'Greg Norman triple bogeyed the first hole when he won the British Open.'

I thought that was kind of interesting."

Newton did not despair, qualifying in a tie for fourth low score. In the end, the championship was hers.

"I guess it shows you that you should never give up, pack it in early," she said. "You've got to play all the holes."

In the semifinal matches, Newton defeated Aree Wongluekiet, 14, of Bradenton, Fla., 1 up. Wongluekiet broke a record which had stood since 1961 as the youngest player to reach the semifinal at 14 years, 2 1/2 months. The previous record had been held by Roberta Albers, at 14 years, 8 months.

Also in the semifinal round, Myerscough defeated Yvonne Choe, 17, of Temple City, Calif., 2 and 1, to advance to the final.

Leigh Anne Hardin, 18, of Martinsville, Ind., was medalist with 69-71-140, edging Lorena Ochoa, of Guadalajara, Mexico, by one stroke.

The championship marked the final amateur appearance for Newton and U.S. Curtis Cup players Beth Bauer, Cramerton, N.C., and Angela Stanford, Saginaw, Texas. All three turned professional following the Women's Amateur.

The 2000 Women's Amateur set a record with 682 entries. Entries for the championship have increased every year since 1989.