Mary Budke

Miss Mary Budke, of Dundee, Ore., won at the St. Louis Country Club, Clayton, Mo., in her second attempt. In 1971, at the age of 17 she was eliminated in the second round of match play.

Miss Budke defeated Miss Cynthia Hill, of St. Petersburg, Fla., 5 and 4, in the 36-hole final. Miss Hill was runnerup to Mrs. Martha Wilkinson Kirouac in the 1970 Championship. Miss Budke barely qualified for match play, scoring 79-81-160.

In her first round match against Miss Lancy Smith, a member of the 1972 Curtis Cup Team, Miss Budke scored a 77 and won, 1-up. Miss Budke was only one over par for 16 holes in her second match, defeating Miss Phyliss Preuss, a veteran of five Curtis Cup Teams, 3 and 2.

In her quarter-final match against Miss Mary Bea Porter, Miss Budke lost five of the first six holes, won the 7th and 8th, and lost the 9th to go four down. She then won five holes before Miss Porter evened the match at the 18th with a birdie. But on the 19th Miss Porter hit two bunker shots out of bounds and lost.

The semi-final match against Mrs. Barbara White Boddie also went extra holes. Mrs. Boddie had been playing perhaps the best golf of the Championship, scoring just two over par in her three matches and beating all her opponents by the same 6 and 5 margin. She eliminated the defending Champion, Miss Laura Baugh, Miss Marilynn Palmer, of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and Mrs. Nancy Roth Syms.

Mrs. Boddie was 1 up at the 18th, and then called a one-stroke penalty on herself when her ball moved at address deep in the rough. She conceded the hole to Miss Budke and they went to the 19th. Miss Budke parred the hole and Mrs. Boddie bogied.

Against Cynthia Hill in the final round, Miss Budke shot a morning round of 75, to go 1-up, despite a hole-in-one by Miss Hill on the 145-yard seventh. In the afternoon, Miss Budke birdied the first hole to go 2-up and went 3-up at the eighth.

Miss Hill birdied the ninth, but lost the 10th to fall three back. Miss Budke clinched the match at the 12th with a par when Miss Hill had to crawl under a fir tree to play her second shot. In the 32 holes of the final match, Miss Budke was only three over par.