U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur: Could she be you?

Tara Joy-Connelly, shares a laugh with Lauren Greenlief, left, on Tuesday, Oct. 6. Greenlief won the match to advance to the quarterfinals. (Copyright USGA/Matt Sullivan)

THE QUARTERFINALISTS of the 2015 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship this week at Squire Creek Country Club in Choudrant, La., are women like you. They have jobs and/or families but keep playing golf for the fun of it. To qualify for the U.S. Women’s Mid-Am, they had to be at least 25 years old and have a USGA index of not more than 9.4.

Do any of them sound like someone you could aspire to be? Take a look at their profiles, courtesy of the USGA, and follow the quarterfinal matches at USWMidAm.org and on Twitter with #USWomensMidAm.

Whitney Britton, 25, of Laguna Niguel, Calif.

• Competing in her first U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur and fourth USGA championship
• A 2012 graduate of Oregon State University, where she was named to the Pac-12 Academic All-America Second Team three times
• Works in business development at Gravity Pro Consulting
• Married to Mitchell Britton
• Previously played under her maiden name of French

Paige Bromen, 29, of Minneapolis, Minn.

• Competing in her second U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur and second USGA championship
• Five-time Minneapolis Golf Club champion
• Holds the Minneapolis Golf Club course record with a 65 shot in 2010
• 2013 Minnesota Women’s Golf Association Four-Ball champion
• A 2009 University of Minnesota graduate, where she was twice earned Academic All-Big Ten honors
• Earned an MBA from Minnesota in 2013
• An optimization manager for Select Comfort

Kay Daniel, 44, of Covington, La.

• Competing in her ninth U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur and 10th USGA championship
• Previous best result was the Round of 16 at the 2013 Women’s Mid-Amateur
• 2005 Louisiana Women’s Amateur champion and 2015 runner-up
  Seven-time Louisiana Women’s Mid-Amateur champion
• A graduate of Mississippi State University
• An orthodontist
• Married to Chuck Daniel with two children, Nicklaus and Abbey
• Daughter Abbey reached the final round of the 2015 Drive, Chip & Putt Championship

Lauren Greenlief, 25, of Oakton, Va.

• Youngest competitor in the championship, having turned 25 on Sept. 13
• Competing in her first Women’s Mid-Amateur and sixth USGA championship
• Advanced to Round of 16 in 2015 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship at Bandon Dunes with partner Abby Portyrata
• Was a member of the third-place Virginia team in the 2013 USGA Women’s State Team Championship
• Three-time Virginia State Golf Association Stroke Play champion, winning in 2010 on the seventh playoff hole
• Finished second in the 2015 Virginia State Women’s Amateur and third in the 2015 Canadian Women’s Amateur
• A 2012 graduate of the University of Virginia, where she walked onto the golf team and was a two-time Academic All-American
• A management consultant for The Boston Consulting Group

Mercedes Huarte, 29, of Argentina

• Moved to the United States at age 18 to play college golf at Jacksonville State University
• Four-time Ohio Valley Conference champion and the 2008 player of the year.
• Financial analyst for Cisco Systems.
• Husband, Corey Brindle, is an accountant with the 82nd Airborne Division of the U.S. Army who has served in Afghanistan.

Christina Proteau, 32, of Canada

• Competing in her fourth U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur and sixth USGA championship
• Advanced to the Women’s Mid-Amateur quarterfinals in 2012 and 2014, losing to Laura Coble in 2012 and Meghan Stasi in 2014
• Competed in 2014 while eight months pregnant, with each match going 19 holes
• Winner of the 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur Championships
• Winner of the 2006, 2009 and 2011 British Columbia Women’s Amateur Championships
• Winner of the 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2015 British Columbia Women’s Mid-Amateur Championships
• A 2005 graduate of the University of New Mexico
• A prosecutor for the ministry of justice for the province of British Columbia
• Married to Jim Proteau with one child, Jameson

Margaret Shirley, 29, of Roswell, Ga.

• Competing in her fourth U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur and 13th USGA championship
• Defending champion, beating Julia Potter in a rematch of the 2013 final, which was only the third such rematch in USGA championship history
• Competed for the victorious Georgia squad in 2015 USGA Women’s State Team Championship
• Winner of the 2006, 2008 and 2013 Georgia Women’s Open
• Winner of the 2011 Georgia Women’s Match-Play Championship
• Earned amateur reinstatement in July 2010
• A 2008 graduate of Auburn University
• Executive director for Atlanta Junior Golf, which hosts 90 one-day golf tournaments for juniors ages 7-18
• Served as assistant women’s golf coach at the University of Georgia and Auburn University

Ashley Tonore, 38, of Monroe, La.

• Competing in her first U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur and fifth USGA championship, and her first event beyond a club championship since 2007
• Played two years on the LPGA Tour
• Earned amateur reinstatement in 2006
• A 1998 graduate of Louisiana State University, where she was a three-time Academic All-American
• Former women’s golf coach at the University of Louisiana-Monroe
• Pharmaceutical sales representative for Eli Lilly and Co.
• Married to Gerald Tonore with two children, Morgan and Alex