For the fifth time in seven years Sue Wooster has captured the title of Arizona Senior Women’s Amateur Champion.
The three-day stroke play championship ran Sunday through Tuesday at Oro Valley Country Club with a field of 76 players split across the Championship, Field and Super Senior Divisions.
Wooster’s run to the title did not come without its challenges.
Shelly Haywood’s long birdie putt on No. 18 in the final round forced a sudden death playoff with Wooster. The pair took the No. 10 tee box for an extra hole to decide things.
“I’ve been playing long enough now where if I get in a playoff I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself,” Wooster said of her mindset. “If I win, that’s great. If I come in second, well second is good…”
Wooster, a resident of Chadstone, Australia, ripped a drive down the center of the fairway on the par 4, falling just off the left of the green on her 8-iron approach.
A successful long putt gave her an easy tap for par and the eventual victory for the tournament at +9.
Australia's Susan Wooster flashed success with her sand wedge en route to her fifth championship title in the 2025 Arizona Senior Women's Amateur at Oro Valley Country Club. (Photo by: Corey Cavanaugh)
Wooster collected four birdies in the tournament and its only eagle — saving two strokes on the par 5 15th hole in the second round. She said the strongest aspect of her game was dialing in on long putts and giving herself a chance at par out of the sand.
Oro Valley saw 103 birdies and 1,080 pars in the tournament. Its four par 3’s ranked as the four easiest holes while the par 5 11th hole gave the biggest trouble with a scoring average of 6.58.
“I didn’t know what to expect,” Wooster said of the course. “The vista with the mountains is awesome. They’ve got fantastic greens and the course is in beautiful condition…”
It’s a quick turn-around for the tournament champion who is among several others from this week’s field to compete in the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Championship at the Omni Homestead Resort Cascades Course in Hot Springs, Virginia beginning Sept. 13.
Wooster is a three-time runner up of the national event but said taking the Arizona crown once again is another huge step toward a successful run at the U.S. title.
“It’s a good boost of confidence,” she said.