Jeff Simonds provides Marie with advice on playing the 10th Hole; Andrew Vijarro tees off on 11
Bandon, Ore. (June 25, 2009) - Typical Bandon Dunes weather returned as both Men's and Women's fields were pared
down to just eight players setting up the quarter and semi-final matches at the 100th Oregon Amateur.
In the Women's division, only one former champion remains as defending champion Kate Hildahl lost to fellow Oregon
teammate Erica Omlid on the 20th Hole, and two-time champion Charisse Spada went down to local favorite Marie
Simonds on the 19th Hole.
"I was hitting the ball all over the place on the opening nine," said Simonds who had her husband, Bandon Dunes
Resort Head Professional Jeff Simonds, as her caddie. "Charisse was just steady hitting fairways and greens, but I
was making putts from all over the place to kill any momentum she might have had. I've always been a pretty good
putter, and I've always loved the greens at Bandon."
The match was all-square at the turn. "We kept hoping for more wind," said [Jeff] Simonds. "Course knowledge
should play to our advantage, and as long as it stayed nasty, we felt good about going the distance." She was
3-up with 3 to play, before Spada staged a comeback.
"I didn't come here to play this way," as Spada recounted a conversation with her caddie. "He told me to buck
up!" Spada hit her approaches close on the next three holes to force the match to extra holes. "I rushed my
swing, and ended up in the fescue," said Spada who lost on the first extra hole.
Simonds played golf from 1999-2003 for the Boise State Bronco's leading the team and the WAC as an "All
Conference" player two years in a row with a scoring average of 74. She will face the only remaining champion in
the field, Kristen Svicarovich, who won the 2007 title.
The Men's Division had an epidemic of upsets as most of the top seeds lost in the morning matches including
medalist Kevin Beavers, Jake Wagner, Jim Dunlap, Armen Kirakossian, Tyler Simpson and Gaston de la Torre.
Those that advanced played in the afternoon to whittle the field down to those that will play in the
quarterfinals. The top remaining seed is Chris Polski who qualified for the U.S. Amateur Public Links in a
36-hole qualifier on Sunday before heading down to tee off in the Oregon Amateur on Monday.
The University of Oregon golf team also faired well with Isaiah Telles and Andrew Vijarro advancing.
Friday's quarterfinal matches begin at 8am and those that win play semin final matches beginning at 12:30pm.