By VIC DORR JR.

They didn’t hold a changing of the guard ceremony this morning at Salisbury Country Club. But such an event wouldn’t have been inappropriate. For the moment, at least, the Richmond Women’s Golf Association City Amateur tournament belongs to the upcoming generation.

 

Liza Lewis, 26, and Kristine Rohrbaugh, 32, advanced to Friday’s Championship Flight final by defeating respected members of the RWGA establishment in Thursday’s third round of match play. Lewis, who played college golf at Randolph-Macon, posted a 4-and-3 semifinal victory over three-time former champion Peggy Freeman. Rohrbaugh, the defending City Amateur champion, played as a collegian at William and Mary. She defeated five-time former champion Boodie McGurn 2-and-1.

 

The significance of the moment was as tangible to tournament veterans as the heat that hung like a blanket over the vivid green golf course.

 

“This is what’s supposed to happen,” said McGurn, who won her first championship in 1995 and her most recent in 2018. “This is how it’s supposed to be.  I played about as well today as I’m capable of playing. Kristine just played better.”

 

The Lewis-Rohrbaugh matchup, McGurn said, “is exactly what I was hoping for at the beginning of the week.” Then she paused. “Well, kind of. Obviously I was hoping I could pull off a surprise and somehow make it into the final. But to see this happen – no, I’m not disappointed. Not in the least.”

 

Rohrbaugh, a two-time champion who won her first title as an 18-year-old in 2008, said she has drawn a measure of motivation from the history of the tournament in general and in particular the accomplishments of the veteran players in this year’s field.

 

“I think it gives you something to shoot for,” she said. “A legacy like that – how can you not respect it and look up to it?”

 

Lewis, the qualifying medalist, agreed. “I’m glad just to be here,” she said. “There are a lot of talented players out here. I think I’ve played better every day and have come away feeling better about my swing every day” since the tournament began.

 

Lewis, one of the tournament’s most formidable power hitters, never trailed against Freeman. She won the first two holes and three of the first four. A briefly uncooperative putter nudged her into a mid-match funk, but she recovered after making the turn to again win three times in a span of four holes.

 

“I kept telling myself, ‘They’ll fall. Sooner or later, they’ll fall,’” Lewis said. “I was rolling the ball well. It was just a matter of picking a line, committing to it and trusting it.”

 

Lewis’ victory at No. 15 – the par-5 6th hole on Salisbury’s Monacan nine – put her power on display. A booming drive and a magnificent approach shot, a 6-iron 173 yards that died two feet from the flag, enabled her to close out the match with an eagle.

 

Steadiness was Rohrbaugh’s ally against McGurn. Rohrbaugh led 2-up at the turn and thereafter kept McGurn at arm’s length with six consecutive pars. Both players made bogey at the par-3 17th, the hole that closed out the match.

 

Inconsistency off the tee hurt Rohrbaugh in Wednesday’s epic 21-hole quarterfinal victory over Joanne Kitusky. Such was not the case against McGurn.

 

“Today was much better,” Rohrbaugh said. “I didn’t really change anything. I just tried to focus on my target instead of thinking and worrying about the mechanics of my swing.”

 

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