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Senior Women’s State Amateur: Kareen Larson vs. Anouk Patty in finals
On a day marked by upsets, Kareen Larson enjoyed an unusually light workload as a higher-seeded golfer in match play of the 33rd Utah Senior Women’s State Amateur.
Larson advanced to Saturday morning’s final pairing by winning two matches that required a total of only 26 holes.
Kareen Larson moves on to Saturday’s championship match at Mountain Dell GC.
In the same time frame on Mountain Dell’s Lake Course, Nancy Beck was involved in two 21-hole matches Friday. Anouk Patty outlasted Beck in the semifinals, after Beck had edged Steph Belnap in the morning.
Semifinalist, Nancy Beck
As the No. 8 seed, Patty established the day’s theme with a 3-and-2 win over seven-time champion Annette Gaiotti in the quarterfinals. Gaiotti was the stroke-play medalist, while seeking an eighth title that would have tied Bev Nelson for the most titles in a single Utah Golf Association event.
Jeremy Ranch Golf & Country Club’s Anouk Patty will face Kareen Larson in the championship match.
Buchanan, the No. 7 seed, continued the trend with a 4-and-2 defeat of 2023 champion Nuny Khamken. Beck parred the par-3 No. 3 to end her match, after Belnap had won No. 18 to extend the match.
Semifinalist, Kris Buchanan
The No. 3-seeded Larson’s 5-and-4 win over Mona Stevens was the only dominant performance of the quarterfinals. And then Larson became an 8-and-6 winner against Buchanan in the semifinals.
Larson was the 2024 UGA Senior Women’s Player of the Year. She accumulated enough Player Performance Rankings points to earn the award, even while having to miss the Senior Women’s State Am last September due to work responsibilities as the General Manager of TalonsCove Golf Club.
Going into the final match, unofficial calculations indicate that by winning the title, Larson would tie Belnap for the 2025 Senior Women’s Player of the Year award.
Patty is a UGA newcomer, having moved to Utah as the Chief of Sport for the Park City-based US Ski and Snowboard. She plays out of Jeremy Ranch Golf & Country Club.
33rd Utah Senior Women’s State Amateur recaps by Fairways Media senior writer Kurt Kragthorpe. Photos by Fairways Media/Randy Dodson.