Gutsy Wooster bridesmaid again

Sue Wooster admits the game on the 16th to Lara Tennant. Image: USGA

In an episode of "deja vu", Sue Wooster & # 39; s run failed in the American final for senior amateurs for the second consecutive year.

It was a bittersweet moment for Wooster, who eventually couldn't turn the table for her 2018 co-finalist, Lara Tennant, in today's clash at Cedar Rapids Country Club.

Tennant supported her triumph in a remarkably similar way, prevailing in the 16th hole with exactly the same 3 & 2 margin.

"Sometimes you just say what you can do?" Said a defeated Wooster.

"It's tough, but you always expect from your opponent – you have to expect things like that to happen.

"This year I had a harder road to the final than last year.

"(After the last loss last year), I don't know if I lost it. I mean, it was emotional. It probably took six months."

Wooster jumped out of the blocks early and won the second hole after a bad drive from Tennant, but in the end it was the only time that Wooster led the re-match.

Tennant then won the fourth and eighth hole with par, as Wooster found the water with her tee-shot for a double bogey on eight.

The reigning Australian Senior Ladies champion then missed three consecutive fairways, and Tennant captured both the 10th and 11th holes with pars from Wooster & # 39; s bogeys to take firm control.

Wooster, who won three games on the 18th hole, including her quarter-final and semi-final wins on Wednesday, cut in Tennant's 3-up lead over the par-4 13th when she went up and down and to the reigning champion three putt.

With both players on the green plateau of the par-4 14 in two, Tennant hit a "critical shot" after her ball hit the flagpole from a distance of 45 feet and stopped a few centimeters from the hole.

Both players made 15-par two on the par-5, and when Wooster missed another fairway to the right at number 16, she had to aim away from the flag pole as she approached.

Tennant made a comfortable par after a crispy iron shot, and when Wooster & # 39; s 8-foot try for an up and down missed, the game was over.

"You know what? Sue is a tough competitor and a fantastic golfer," said Tennant, who played at the University of Arizona.

"Last year I sincerely apologized to Sue for beating her, because at this point in the game, when you've played 10 rounds in eight days, you're both exhausted, you've worked hard, you've both played well. "

The Victoria acknowledged that missing three fairways from bad tee-shots was expensive in her loss.

"You try to be as calm and focused and as clear as possible, but you are under great pressure," said Wooster, who finished 40th in last year's inaugural US Senior Women & Open.

"Sometimes your body just doesn't do what your mind wants it, and vice versa. I was surprised. I had a pretty good mindset when I took those photos."

"If your swing deviates a bit, you just have to learn to play through your bowels,"

“My placement kept me in it. I only had one or two putts all week. And having said that, I didn't really make a hole either. Didn't go 10-15 footers, so that was disappointing. "

Even in defeat, Wooster deserves a return ticket for the Senior Women & # 39; s Amateur for the next three years, plus the 2020 Senior Women & # 39; s Open Championship.