Augusta’s Laura Coble Finishes Runner-Up in US Mid-Amateur Championship

Ocala, FL (Sports Network) - Martha Leach defeated Laura Coble, 3 & 2, on Thursday to win the Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship.

The 47-year-old Leach, of Hebron, Ky., rallied from a 1-down deficit after six holes and clinched the victory with a three-foot birdie putt on the 16th.

Playing in the Women’s Mid-Am final for the first time in 22 appearances, Leach earned her first United States Golf Association championship in more than 40 tries.

Both women had advanced to the final round at Golden Hills by beating former champions in the semifinals.

Coble, 45, of Augusta, Ga., defeated two-time champion Meghan Stasi on Wednesday, while Leach knocked off 1998 champion Virginia Derby Grimes with a 36-foot putt on the 18th hole.

Leach didn’t need such theatrics on Thursday.

After taking an early 1-up lead, Leach fell behind when Coble won back-to-back holes at the fifth and sixth. But Leach rebounded to square the match with a par on No. 7 and would never trail again.

She took a 1-up lead with a birdie at the 10th, then doubled that advantage with a winning par at the 12th. Leach extended her lead to 3-up with a par at the 14th.

Coble took one more hole—winning the 15th with a birdie to move within 2- down—but Leach’s birdie at the 16th put the match out of reach.