Resorters golf: Top seeds in Women's Executive tumble out of the tournament

A pair of eagles and a smattering of birdies highlighted the Women’s Executive quarterfinal round at the 102nd Resorters Tournament on Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023, which saw all four lower seeds pull off wins and oust the top seed and defending champion out of the bracket while also booking their spots in Friday’s semifinals.

Beckendorf def. Tessmer-Jones, 1-up

Despite winning the first hole and taking an early lead, the No. 9 seed Heidi Beckendorf had to pull off a late comeback to upset the No. 1 seed Karla Tessmer-Jones. Tessmer-Jones won holes 2, 3, and 5 to take a two-hole lead, but Beckendorf won the ninth to cut Tessmer-Jones' lead down.

Tessmer-Jones won the 10th hole with a birdie and the 12th hole, but Beckendorf turned the tables after that.

Beckendorf trailed by three holes heading into hole 13 but won four of the next five holes to storm back into the lead and into the next round.

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Both golfers notched a birdie on hole 6.

Aldrich def. Faith, 5-4

Both the No. 5 seed Betsy Alrdich and the No. 4 seed Stacy Faith tallied eagles on hole 12 in their quarterfinal match. And both golfers scored a birdie early in the match, but Faith was unable to keep up with Aldrich on the scorecard sending the No. 5 seed into the next round.

Aldrich won the first, third, fourth, sixth, and ninth holes on the front nine. Aldrich sealed the win with a par on the 14th hole.

Aldrich is in the hunt for her sixth Women's Executive division title. Her most recent came in 2021. She's won four out of the last six division titles.

Allyn def. O’Donnell, 2-1

The No. 10 seed Andrea Allyn pulled off her second straight upset of match play, overcoming a two-birdie performance by the No. 2 seed and defending champion, Amanda O’Donnell. Allyn earned a birdie of her own but advanced by shooting consistent pars, leading by as many as four holes during the round.

Allyn built a 3-up lead after five holes and eventually led by 4-up after 10 holes.

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O'Donnell won holes 11, 13, and 14 to cut Allyn's lead down to 1 hole, but Allyn won the 16th hole and held on to win 2-1.

Bull def. Baker, 20 holes

In a back-and-forth round that saw both golfers notch a birdie and win five holes, the No. 14 seed Krista Bull topped the No. 11 seed Molly Baker in extra holes to cap off a full round of upsets, sending Bull into the semifinals.

Bull began the match with a 2-up lead after two holes. She birdied the 2nd hole. Baker won holes 14 and 15 to take a 1-up lead, but Bull won the 16th hole to tie the match.

Neither golfer held a lead bigger than 2-up at any point of the match.

Krista Bull's son, Tyler, also earned a clutch victory in the Junior 10-12 division on Thursday as well.

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