Inside the Field: 63rd U.S. Senior Women's Amateur

WHO’S HERE–  A breakdown of the 132 golfers competing in the 63rd U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Championship:

Oldest Competitors: Marianne Springer (81), Wellington, Fla.; Annette Gaiotti (72), Park City, Utah; Carol Davies (70), Garrett Park, Md.; Joan Gardner (70), Alexandria, Va.

Youngest Competitors: Marie Arnoux (50), France; Alice De Roquemaurel (50), Miami, Fla.; Stefani Markovich (50), Canada, Jennifer Delgadillo (50), Horizon City, Texas, Kelly Nelson (50), Waterloo, Iowa

Average Age of Field: 58.86

Field breakdown by age:
Age 50-54: 33
Age 55-59: 38
Age 60-64: 43
Age 65-69: 14
Age 70-73: 3
Age 80-85: 1

Senior Women’s Amateur Birthdays: Four competitors will celebrate birthdays during championship week. Karen Veriato turns 64 on September 15, Tina Jones turns 68 on September 17, and both Mary Cabriele (63) and Diana Chancellor (65) share a birthday on September 18. 

International – There are 13 countries represented in the 2025 U.S. Senior Women's Amateur: United States of America (106), Argentina (2), Australia (4), Belgium (1), Canada (5), England (1), Finland (1), France (1), Ireland (1), Italy (2), Japan (4) Mexico (2), Switzerland (1)

U.S. States Represented – There are 34 states represented in the 2025 U.S. Senior Women's Amateur: Alabama (1), Arizona (3), Arkansas (2), California (13), Colorado (3), Connecticut (3), Delaware (2), Florida (10), Georgia (3), Illinois (2), Iowa (1), Kansas (1), Kentucky (3), Louisiana (2), Maryland (2), Massachusetts (5), Michigan (3), Minnesota (2), Mississippi (1), Missouri (3), Nevada (2), New Jersey (2), New York (1), North Carolina (6), Ohio (1), Oregon (2), Pennsylvania (5), South Carolina (5), Tennessee (2), Texas (6), Utah (1), Virginia (6), Washington (1), Wisconsin (1)

Players from Virginia (6): Mary Cabriele (Vienna), Amy Ellertson (Free Union), Joan Gardner (Alexandria), Brenda McKinlay (Herndon), Kimberly Palko (Alexandria), Kristin Shifflett (Fredericksburg)

U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Champions (7): Sarah Gallagher (2023), Karen Garcia (2015), Nadene Gole (2024), Judith Kyrinis (2017), Ellen Port (2012, 2013, 2016), Shelly Stouffer (2022), Lara Tennant (2018, 2019, 2021)  
U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Runners-up (8): Susan Cohn (2013), Brenda Corrie Kuehn (2023), Pamela Kuong (2015), Judith Kyrinis (2014), Ellen Port (2021), Terrill Samuel (2017), Shelly Stouffer (2024), Sue Wooster (2018, 2019, 2022) 

U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Champions (5): Amber Marsh Elliott (2003)  Kathy Hartwiger (2002), Martha Leach (2009), Ellen Port (1995, 1996, 2000, 2011), Corey Weworski (2004)

U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Runners-Up (5): Laura Coble (2009), Mary Jane Hiestand (2017), Brenda Corrie Kuehn (1995), Martha Leach (2011), Ellen Port (2002)

USA Curtis Cup Team Members (2): Brenda Corrie Kuehn (1996, 1998), Ellen Port (1994 & 1996) 

USA Curtis Cup Captains (1):  Ellen Port (2014)  

LOCAL PLAYER NOTES:

Mary Cabriele, 62, of Vienna, Va., will be making her debut in the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur. Cabriele boasts an impressive résumé that includes winning the 2015 and 2016 VA State Senior Stroke Play and 2017 VA Senior Women’s Amateur. She also was named the 2015 VA State Senior Women’s Player of the Year. In 1980, she became the first woman to play and earn a varsity letter on the Franklin & Marshall’s Division III team, where she graduated. In 1991, she also won the Virginia State Division I Women’s Amateur Championship. Cabriele works full time for an adult public charter school, helping those less fortunate achieve high level credentials in Healthcare and IT fields.

Amy Ellertson, 64, of Free Union, Va., will return to the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur for her seventh appearance after advancing to the Round of 16 last year. Ellertson has also qualified for three U.S. Senior Women’s Opens. She was one of five amateurs to make the cut in the 2019 U.S. Senior Women’s Open at Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club (T-42). The owner of numerous VSGA titles, Ellertson was named the 2019 VSGA Senior Women’s Golfer of the Year. Ellertson, who played collegiate golf at San Jose State University, had two runner-up finishes following her win at the 2023 North and South Senior Women’s Championship. This year, she secured the 2025 Bluegrass Women’s Senior Amateur title.

Kimberley Palko, 51, of Alexandria, Va., is set to make her U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur debut. Palko fired a 72 at Mount Vernon Country Club, in Alexandria, Va., to qualify. It’s the same site she represents for the Virginia Women’s State Match Team. Palko graduated from Campbell University, where she played collegiate golf, and later earned a degree in government and pre-law from Wake Forest University School of Law.

Kristin Shifflett, 52, of Fredericksburg, Va., will tee it up for the first time in the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur. Shifflett qualified for the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur in 2018 and 2019, missing the cut both years. Shifflett was a semifinalist in the 2023 VSGA Senior Women’s Championship and won the title the following year. She holds a degree in accounting and finance from the University of Maryland and currently serves as an accountant at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 

PLAYER NOTES: 

Sarah Gallagher, 51, of Canton, Ga., claimed the 2023 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur title, defeating Brenda Corrie Kuehn, 1 up, at Troon Country Club, in Scottsdale, Ariz. Gallagher won the inaugural Georgia Women’s Mid-Amateur in 2023 at the Country Club of Columbus. She also made match play at the 2019 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur at Forest Highlands, in Flagstaff, Ariz., and advanced to the Round of 32 in the 2021 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur at Berkeley Hall Club, in Bluffton, S.C. The 2018 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur was her first USGA championship in 25 years. She claimed the Georgia Senior Women’s Match Play Championship last July and was a quarterfinalist in the 2024 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur after falling short to Corrie Kuehn, 1 up. Her son, Ryan, is on the Georgia Junior State Team, an initiative under the U.S. National Development Program umbrella.  
 
Brenda Corrie Kuehn, 60, of Asheville, N.C., has played in nearly 50 USGA championships, including 10 U.S. Women’s Opens. A two-time USA Curtis Cup player, she earned the winning point for the USA Team in 1998 and watched her daughter, Rachel, do the same in 2021 (Wales) and 2022 (Merion). Their golf bond began at the 2001 U.S. Women’s Open, where Brenda competed while eight months pregnant with Rachel. The two recently competed together in the 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Southern Hills. Brenda was runner-up in both the 1995 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur and the 2023 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur. She also made the cut and advanced to match play in the 2023 and 2024 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateurs. Last year, she reached the semifinals of the 2024 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur before falling to eventual champion Nadene Gole. Last month, she competing in the 2025 U.S. Senior Women’s Open at San Diego Country Club, missing the cut by one stroke.

Kim Kaul, 67, of Colden, N.Y., will return to the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur after missing the cut in last year’s championship. Kaul was a competitive softball player who was invited to the 1992 Olympic Trials in addition to being inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 2012. Kaul, a retired physical-education teacher, is a six-time NYSGA champion, having claimed the Senior and Four-Ball titles three times each.

Judith Kyrinis, 61, of Canada, won the 2017 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, defeating fellow Canadian Terrill Samuel, 4 and 3, to become the third Canadian to win the title. Kyrinis, a retired nurse, was low amateur at both the 2019 and 2023 U.S. Senior Women’s Opens, recording the lowest 72-hole amateur score in championship history in the latter at Waverley Country Club, the same venue where she claimed her 2017 title. In 2023, Kyrinis became the oldest quarterfinalist in U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur history. In 2024, she advanced to the Round of 16 of the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur and U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur. Kyrinis is also a four-time Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur champion.

Amber Marsh Elliott, 56, of Greensboro, N.C., won the 2003 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur, defeating Shannon Ogg, 3 and 2, at Long Cove Club, in Hilton Head, S.C. Marsh Elliott also claimed the 1994 Women’s Carolinas Championship. After being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006, she had a bi-lateral mastectomy and was given a clean bill of health. This will mark her second appearance in the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur after competing four years ago.

Ellen Port, 63, of St. Louis, Mo., will be making her 78th appearance in a USGA championship. Port has claimed four U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur (1995, 1996, 2000, 2011) titles and three U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur (2012, 2013, 2016) crowns. She boasts an impressive 32-8 match-play record in the Senior Women’s Amateur, and this marks her 13th appearance in the championship. Port was the runner-up to good friend and U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball partner Lara Tennant in the 2021 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur. She also made history in 2021, becoming the first woman to win the Met Senior Amateur, the Metropolitan Amateur Golf Association's premier senior men's championship, prevailing in a four-hole playoff. Port shared low-amateur honors in tying for 20th at the 2021 U.S. Senior Women’s Open at Brooklawn C.C., in Fairfield, Conn. She captained the winning USA Team in the 2014 Curtis Cup Match at St. Louis Country Club and spent three years as head coach of the Division III Washington University women’s golf team in St. Louis. This year, Port won the Bluegrass Women’s Senior Amateur and was the runner-up in the Kansas Women’s Mid-Amateur.

Shelly Stouffer, 55, of Canada, won the 2022 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur at Anchorage Golf Course in Alaska, with a 4 and 3 victory over Sue Wooster. The win made her the fourth Canadian to claim the Senior Women’s Amateur title. She was inducted to the Pacific Northwest Golf Hall of Fame in early 2024. That same year, she was the medalist in the 2024 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, advancing to the final before losing to Nadene Gole, 3 and 2.  Stouffer has competed in the last four U.S. Senior Women’s Open’s with her best finish in 2022 (T-29). This year she added the Canadian Women’s Senior Championship, Irish Senior Women’s Open, and British Columbia Senior Women’s titles to her portfolio.

Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll, 54, of Haslett, Mich., will make her third start in the championship with her best finish coming in 2023 when she advanced to the Round of 16. Slobodnik-Stoll has firmly established her legacy at Michigan State, playing a pivotal role in the development of the women's golf program. The 2024–25 season marked her 28th year as head coach. One of her players, Brooke Biermann, advanced to the championship match of last month’s U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bandon Dunes. She is five-time Big Ten Coach of the Year (2001, 2007, 2012, 2017, 2018) and has led the program to 24 NCAA Regional appearances, 14 trips to the NCAA championships, eight Big Ten titles and 44 tournament wins. Not only is she an accomplished coach, but also an elite competitor, having won 18 Golf Association of Michigan individual titles. Slobodnik-Stoll and her husband also purchased two golf courses in Michigan in 2021. 

Lara Tennant, 57, of Portland, Ore., became the first player since Carol Semple Thompson (four from 1999-2002) to win three consecutive U.S. Senior Women's Amateur titles when she defeated seven-time USGA champion Ellen Port,  2 and 1, in the 2021 championship match at The Lakewood Club, in Point Clear, Ala. Tennant, a former University of Arizona golfer, is a five-time Oregon Senior Women’s Amateur champion. She also captured the 2020 and 2024 California Senior Women’s Amateur, and the 2019 R&A Women’s Senior Amateur Championship. She made the first hole-in-one in U.S. Senior Women’s Open history in the inaugural championship at Chicago Golf Club in 2018 on the 163-yard, seventh hole. Tennant won 20 consecutive matches in the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur over a four-year stretch before falling in the Round of 16 in 2023. Tennant earned medalist honors at the 2023 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur at Troon Country Club and, more recently, was the low amateur at last month’s U.S. Senior Women’s Open at San Diego Country Club. 

Karen Veriato, 63, of New Braunfels, Texas, will be making her debut in the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur and her fourth overall appearance in a USGA championship. She competed in three U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateurs (2004, 2006, 2011), missing the match-play cut. In July of 2015, Veriato was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and underwent Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery the following year to help manage her tremors. Veriato caddied for her husband, Steven, on the PGA Tour Champions from 1996-2004 where they secured one victory at the 2001 Novell Utah Showdown. He also competed on the PGA Tour (1976-1980), Asia Golf Circuit and Canadian Tour. Along with wife Karen, Steven also teed it up in 11 USGA championships, including two U.S. Opens (1979 and 1988) where he missed the cut, as well as nine U.S. Senior Opens between 1996 and 2009, with his best finish coming in his 1996 debut (T-27).

Sue Wooster, 62, of Australia, owns three runner-up finishes in the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, including 2022 at Anchorage (Alaska) Golf Course, where she lost to Canadian Shelly Stouffer, 4 and 3. Still, Wooster was named the 2018 Australian Golf Digest Player of the Year and, over a two-year stretch from 2018 to 2019, captured senior amateur titles in Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, along with the Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur. So far in 2025, Wooster has claimed titles at the Italian Senior International Ladies Championship, the Western Australia Senior Amateur, and the NSW Senior Amateur Championship.