Wow! Didn’t see that coming! Today Fran Clinkscales and Kay Landry overtook our 2nd round leader Albertha Hicks and duked it out in a playoff. While both played great golf to get the tie, Fran was victorious with a laser chip and putt for a winning par on the first hole of the playoff! Congrats!

 

Before I get to the details of the day, I’d like to thank the team that made it all happen! Albertha Hicks, Meigan Putnam and Hellen Dennis provided exceptional support at Celebration, Heathrow and Timacuan, respectively. We added shotguns, menus and a great attention to the details, making this first Major of the season a truly special occasion. The clubs welcomed us and helped create a great environment for celebrating and creating new friendships! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Now, on to the Tournament….. There were only two players that broke 70 in 2 of the 3 rounds, Fran and Albertha. And there were only four players who shot even par or under for the total Tournament. Yes, It was Fran, Kay Landry, Albertha and Lyn Stanford. And the old adage, Drive for show, Putt for dough is really true! The majority of the players in the money averaged 31 putts, while the rest of the field averaged 34!

No surprise, the holes that proved to be the round killers were #2 (Love the water!), #14 (Is it legal to have you hit across and next to water on your drive?!), #17 (Fairway is sooo narrow!) and #18 (Just not right to have to hit two perfect shots to get near the green in regulation!) – all of these holes averaged double bogey or slightly under double bogey.

The big push in the third round was achieved by three players – Fran jumped 6 places to win, Janet VanSlyke jumped 5 to get in the money. But the most significant jump of he day was Esther Wilson, who shot the lowest net score of the day (67) and jumped, are you ready, 12 places to finish in the money (From 23rd to 11th)!

I still say the big winners of the Tournament were the Shotgun Start and Lunch with everyone! What a tremendous thrill for Fran and Kay to have their playoff followed by a stream of carts filled with cheering players! And the Trophy presentation was made by a two time previous winner, Jeanne Scarbrough, in front of over half the field! And the toasts, laughs and commiserations among the group certainly made great memories.

OWGA proved once again to be an organization of great players, great sports, and great friends! Thank you all for your support!