Hana Ryskova prevails in an 'all-Louisville' final at the U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur

The soundtrack to the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur final might have been "My Old Kentucky Home," given the finalists’ ties to Louisville. But this match race, in the end, was no match at all.

Hana Ryskova, 25, a native of the Czech Republic who played her college golf for the University of Louisville, defeated Louisville native Lindsay Gahm, 5 and 4, at Brae Burn Country Club in West Newton, Mass., on Thursday.

“I think it needs to settle a little bit. But it feels great for sure,” she said. “It was a good day. I felt good because I met Lindsay once, but I had so many people from Louisville reach out about how great they are, her and Austin. Just the vibe was so much different today than the rest of the week.”

Ryskova never trailed and took the lead for good at the par-3 sixth hole with a par. She won the 10th, 11th, 13th and 14th holes, too, three of them with birdies.

“The front nine doesn't really play in my cards because I can't use my driver,” she said. “And if I use driver on five I can't reach it most of the time. I knew if I was patient … again, patience is everything. I was just being patient and really more focused because I knew Lindsay is a really good player.”

Gahm, 32, who played her college golf at LSU, is the granddaughter of Dwight Gahm, the founder of Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, site of three PGA Championships. She, too, is a member at Valhalla.

A two-time winner of the Kentucky Women’s Open, a former Symetra Tour player, and now a re-instated amateur, Gahm also is a new mother, having given birth to a son five months ago, her and husband Austin Gutgsell’s first child. Her priorities, understandably, shifted away from golf. “Golf has kind of been on the back burner here for the last year,” she said a day earlier. “Honestly, I haven’t played much.”

In the final, with Gutgsell doubling as her caddie, Gahm said, “I just really didn’t have it. I'm just grateful to be here. The course is amazing. I really didn't have any expectations in my head. Just getting here to the final was a dream come true. Really happy for Hana, though. She really played solid today. She's a great person and fierce competitor.”

With the victory, Ryskova became the first native of the Czech Republic to win a USGA championship.