Sherry Andonian-Smith still perfect in U.S. Senior Women’s Open qualifying, punching her ticket for 8th straight year; fellow Colorado PGA pro Terra Shehee qualifies for her first USGA championship; Japan’s Yukako Matsumoto medalist a few months after breaking wrist
By Gary Baines
LAFAYETTE — Perhaps it was fitting that a course designed by a five-time USGA Open championship winner would host a USGA Open qualifier.
But whatever the case, the result was something extraordinary at the U.S. Senior Women’s Open qualifier on Wednesday at Indian Peaks Golf Course, which was designed by Hale Irwin, who owns three U.S. Open and two U.S. Senior Open titles.
To wit:
— Sherry Andonian-Smith of Centennial, a PGA teaching professional at Valley Country Club for six months a year, qualified for the U.S. Senior Women’s Open for the eighth time in the eight years the championship has been held — no small accomplishment for a USGA open championship.
— Along the same lines, Yukako Matsumoto of Kumamoto, Japan qualified for the event for the fifth time in five times trying.
— On the other end of the spectrum, Terra Shehee of Firestone, like Andonian-Smith a longtime member of the Colorado PGA, punched her ticket to a USGA championship for the first time in her life.
— Then there was the way Matsumoto capped off her round en route to medalist honors at 3-under-par 69. The 54-year-old played her last six holes in 5 under par and holed out for eagle with a 7-iron from 162 yards on No. 18 to cap off her day.
Andonian-Smith hit all 18 greens in regulation on Wednesday and shot 72.
All in all, perhaps some USGA magic was at work. But the bottom line is that Andonian-Smith, Shehee and Matsumoto will have tee times in the 2026 U.S. Senior Women’s Open, set for Aug. 20-23 at Barton Hills Country Club in Ann Arbor, Mich. And if it’s like recent years, they’ll be joined the field by some of the legends of women’s golf, including World Golf Hall of Famers Annika Sorenstam, Juli Inkster, Karie Webb, Hollis Stacy, Amy Alcott and Laura Davies.
Let’s check in with Wednesday’s first-time qualifier to see what this accomplishment means.
“I’m going to cry because I started doing this three years ago,” said Shehee, the PGA head professional at Boulder Country Club. “And I didn’t realize that I actually could do it, and that I still had some game and some fight left. And then I had some life changes (including going through a divorce) these last couple years, and I’ve been able to overcome all that. And so doing this, I wanted to do it for not only myself, but for my kids (TJ and Timbre, who have both been high-level amateurs in the state) to show them that it’s good to come back and fight for things. So it’s super exciting.”
Shehee converts a 3-foot birdie putt on the ninth. hole Wednesday.
With a field of 19 players teeing it up on Wednesday for three spots in the national championship, Matsumoto was the lone competitor to break par, using her late surge to shooting a 69.
Andonian-Smith hit all 18 greens in regulation — “I don’t know if I’ve ever done that (before),” she said — parred the first 16 holes, birdied from 10 feet on No. 17 and three-putted for bogey on the 18th en route to a 72.
With son TJ, who qualified for a U.S. Amateur and a U.S. Junior Am during his amateur days, caddying for her — Shehee carded three birdies and four bogeys to record a 73 on Wednesday.
It wasn’t immediately clear how many golfers have matched Andonian-Smith’s feat of qualifying for all eight U.S. Senior Women’s Opens (including the one that’s upcoming) — without receiving any exemptions along the way — but it’s certainly not a lot.
“There’s a lot of pressure on this one,” the 63-year-old said. “Just the more and more I do it, the more pressure I feel. I’m so much older now. It’s pretty amazing — surprising to me, actually. I haven’t played very much this year. I took a new job in the winter (at The Vintage Club in Indian Wells, Calif.) and I was teaching seven days a week, seven or eight hours a day. (She also is a director for U.S. Kids Golf in Colorado.) So I’ve hardly played any golf. But I’m hitting the ball fantastic.”
Matsumoto played her final six holes in 5 under par on Wednesday, capping off her round by holing out from 162 yards for eagle on No. 18.
Andonian-Smith has not only qualified for eight U.S. Senior Women’s Opens, but she’s made the cut at the event each of the past five years. Her best showing was 25th place in 2022, and she placed 34th last year. So it’s little wonder why this is a red-letter event on her calendar each year.
“I mean, it’s a major championship,” said Andonian-Smith, who splits her year between living and working in Colorado and La Quinta, Calif. “So, yeah, especially at my age. Honestly, I did not think I would still be competing at 63 years old. If you’d asked me at 40, there’s no way I would have said it. And yet this is probably the best I’ve hit the ball. At the last couple weeks, it’s probably the best I’ve ever hit the ball.”
On Wednesday, caddying for Andonian-Smith was her brother, Michael, who flew in from California for the event.
Ironically, Andonian-Smith shot even-par and qualified despite saying, “That’s probably the worst green reading I’ve done ever. I just don’t know this course very well. It’s probably the third time I’ve ever played it.”
Caddying for Shehee on Wednesday was son TJ, who has qualified for a U.S. Amateur and a U.S. Junior Amateur.
She also advanced despite some ailments taking their toll. She doesn’t practice much anymore due to a torn labrum in her right hip. Then on Wednesday, she dealt with cramping in her leg over the last five holes, which was so bad that she almost fell over while hitting a tee shot on No. 15.
“The cramp today was the hardest, because once that right calf cramps on your follow-through, it’s hard to swing after that,” she said. “So I feel I’m actually more impressed that I battled through that. I’m thrilled I made it.”
As for Shehee, she was attempting to qualify for the U.S. Senior Women’s Open for the third time, and two years ago she was involved in a playoff for the final qualifying spot with … Andonian-Smith, along with Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton. (Andonian-Smith ultimately earned the final berth.)
“I was like, ‘Oh, crap,’” at the prospect of a playoff with Andonian-Smith, Shehee said. Losing that playoff “was probably just lack of experience, to be honest. And so I really have gotten myself into good shape the last two years, physically, mentally. The fitness component of it is, in my mind, super helpful. And I’ve been working on my game when I can.”
And this time around with solid play and TJ — the 2023 CGA Match Play runner-up and now a pro competing in local, state, regional and mini-tour events — giving advice at times on Wednesday, Shehee got over the hump and qualified for her first USGA championship.
“TJ was just a great caddie,” Shehee said. “He kept me calm. He told me to slow down. He told me, ‘Mom, you walk too fast.’ So I started slowing myself down and listened to him, and he was just very calming. And I wanted to (qualify) for him too, because he’s trying to play golf professionally and he’s struggling and I just wanted to show him that he could do it at any age.”
Terra Shehee said she went through a “tough” divorce after 30 years of marriage to fellow Colorado PGA professional Tray Shehee, but noted “I’m coming out stronger for it.”
And, competitive golf-wise, Shehee calls qualifying for the U.S. Senior Women’s Open her top accomplishment from a tournament perspective.
“This is like an ultimate, super-fun goal that I thought was attainable,” the 54-year-old said. “It will be so fun.
“I’m pretty sure I’m going to go (to the national championship) and be a deer in the headlights and be just overwhelmed. But at the same time, I feel like as you get older, you have more wisdom, you have more experience. I know the golf course is going to be set up extremely difficult. But we’ll just see what happens.”
The awards that went to Wednesday’s top performers.
Meanwhile, Matsumoto, who lives in Japan for all but two months of the year, will be heading to the U.S. Senior Women’s Open for the fifth straight year — and for the fourth consecutive year after qualifying in Colorado.
This, time, the teaching professional put the hammer down after being 2 over par through 12 holes on Wednesday. Starting on No. 13, the 54-year-old went birdie, birdie, bogey, birdie, birdie, eagle. On the 18th hole, with a very challenging pin position, she hit a 7-iron from 162 yards and her ball rolled and rolled on the green until it fell into the cup.
“It was amazing,” she said. “Unbelievable.”
Matsumoto earned medalist honors on Wednesday despite having suffered a considerable injury about three months ago, breaking two bones in her left wrist. For a time while in Japan, she was playing one-handed, and it’s only been this month that she’s been back to a two-handed swing on a regular basis.
But you couldn’t have told she’s been hampered by the way she played at Indian Peaks as she finished with an eagle, five birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey. And she carded a nifty 5-under-par 31 on the back nine.
The U.S. Senior Women’s Open is limited to players 50 and older.
U.S. Senior Women’s Open Qualifying
At Par-72 Indian Peaks GC in Lafayette
ADVANCE TO NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Yukako Matsumoto, Japan 69
Sherry Andonian-Smith, Centennial 72
Terra Shehee, Firestone 73
ALTERNATES (In Order)
Sue Billek Nyhus, Orem, Utah 75
Joanna Ringsby (amateur), Englewood 76
For all the scores from the U.S. Senior Women’s Open qualifier, CLICK HERE.
About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com