Steph Urban and Anna Swan set for Sunday's EDWGA Match Play final
Steph Urban was a comfortable 5-and-3 semifinal winner over Tara Thomas during Saturday's Erie District Women's Golf Association Match Play Championship.
Anna Swan advanced even earlier on Lawrence Park Golf Club's back nine. The North East star and former PIAA gold medalist eliminated Ari Capotis 7 and 5.
When Sunday's final was broached, though, the tournament's top two seeds agreed a full 18-hole round is beyond likely.
Urban, the four-time defending champ and five-time overall titlist, even went as far to say regulation play won't be enough to determine a winner once they tee off at 10:40 a.m.
“I went birdie-birdie to end the match (vs. Thomas), but (Saturday) was more like shooting for pars for me,” Urban said. “Anna had six straight birdies (vs. Capotis), so (Sunday) I've got to go flag hunting.”
If Urban does win by consistently attacking the pins, that result would further define her status in tournament lore. She would tie Georgiann “Turk” Hamilton as the only golfers who have claimed five straight Match Play titles.
Hamilton, as a member of the former Gospel Hill Golf Club, was the tournament's medalist from 1981-85. She formerly served as the EDWGA's president and was a 1992 inductee for the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame's Metropolitan Erie chapter.
Urban said Hamilton, as a fellow Lawrence Park member, has indicted her willingness to share the record.
“She's been texting me good luck all week,” Urban said. “It would be bittersweet (to tie the record) because I play with her all the time. But getting to that record would mean a lot. I mean, a lot.”
Urban, whose initial title occurred in 2009, also would move into sole possession of third place (six) on the Match Play's all-time victory list if she defeats Swan.
The late Jean Forsyth was a 10-time victor between 1947 and 1966. Hamilton is second with seven.
Hamilton bracketed her record five-year run with titles in 1979 and 1988.
Hindering history
Urban said after the 2021 Match Play that her odds of winning EDWGA events would soon plummet.
Holding off an influx of talented players who are half her age or more was the basis of her assessment.
Anna Swan, who's about to start her junior season at North East, definitely fits Urban's description. She's already an EDWGA titlist, having been declared a co-champ with older sister Lydia Swan for last season's Stroke Play tournament.
Anna Swan also recorded the low score of 1-under par 71 for last Wednesday's round that determined the seeds for this weekend's tournament. Swan was seeded second because Urban was automatically No. 1 as the Match Play's defending champ.
Swan's calm-and-collected attitude going into Sunday's final also should have Urban's attention.
“Honestly, I'm not too concerned about it,” Swan said. “I know Steph can play, and I know she's very good at match play. She's kind of expected to win because she has before, but I'm kind of expected to win because I have before.
“I'm not nervous at all. It's going to be a good match.”
Older Swan still in action
Lydia Swan walked Lawrence Park's fairways and greens on Saturday, but not as a player. The recent North East graduate and former PIAA champ served as Anna Swan's caddie.
Lydia Swan had a valid reason for not participating in this weekend's Match Play action. She left after Saturday's semifinal for Lemont, Illinois, where the 2022 Girls Junior PGA Championship will take place.
Swan formerly qualified for that national tournament, which begins Tuesday at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club. She's also weeks away from starting her college golf career at Division I Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Surprise success for Thomas
If Lydia Swan wanted advice on what to expect as a first-year college golfer, she could have asked Thomas on Saturday.
The 2021 Villa Maria graduate, although better known as a three-time winner of the PIAA Class 2A girls doubles tournament, accepted a women's golf scholarship from Bucknell University. She concluded her freshman season as the No. 1 starter for the Bison.
Her average round of 80 was the lowest over their 2021-22 season.
Thomas chuckled as she discussed those developments. Neither were seriously pondered when she arrived at the Leiwsburg school last fall.
“I never expected to get the number one spot as a freshman. Never,” Thomas said. “I just wanted to play. But playing every day, that made a difference.”
Thomas simultaneously played for Villa's golf and tennis teams, each a PIAA fall sport, by the end of her varsity athletic career. She qualified for the state's girls golf and girls tennis tournaments as a senior.
Contact Mike Copper at mcoppper@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNcopper.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Steph Urban and Anna Swan set for Sunday's EDWGA Match Play final
