WILLIAMSBURG, VA (June 17, 2010)--Oakton’s Lauren Greenlief claimed today’s Virginias Women’s Stroke Play Championship in what was a duel to the finish and then some.
Greenlief (pictured right), a 19-year-old rising junior at the University of Virginia, made a 12-foot birdie putt from just off the putting surface on the seventh extra hole, the par-4 18th, to outlast Christine Appleton, 23 of Seaford and collect a repeat victory in the event, which was held at Kingsmill Resort & Spa’s Woods Course (5,798 yards from the championship tees and 5,148 yards from the secondary set of tees par 36-36—72). The championship was conducted by the Virginia State Golf Association.
In taking the title, Greenlief birdied the final four holes of regulation, Nos. 15-18, to match Appleton’s final-round 70 and the 54-hole total of 2-under-par 214. With Greenlief’s back-to-back triumph, the Virginias Women’s Stroke Play has now seen a repeat winner on five occasions in its 33-year history.
A bogey at the par-4 14th hole dropped Greenlief three strokes off Appleton’s pace for a second time during the final round. But Greenlief summoned all her energies and answered by stuffing a 50-degree wedge to 3 feet at the par-4 15th hole for an eventual birdie to get within two. She then matched her fellow-competitor’s birdie at the par 5 16th. Relying on shear will along with plenty of talent, at No. 17, Greenlief drained a 20-foot putt for birdie before forcing extra holes by knocking in a nerve-rattling 4 footer at the par-4 18th hole.
“I was nervous, but I play well when I have nerves and adrenaline,” said Greenlief, who is a redshirt sophomore on the U.Va. women’s golf team. “I tried to funnel it in a positive direction. After my bogey at No. 14, I wanted to go out and grind. I really wanted it.”
Both competitors did. For Appleton’s part, she played consistently the entire way, going bogey-free with two birdies on the inward nine at Nos. 13 and 16. Talk about wanting to win: After missing her second shot approach to the right on the third extra hole, the par-3 17th, Appleton responded to drain a 25-footer for par to keep things going.
“I’d putted well all day and I knew that if I kept it up that eventually the putts would fall. I just stepped up and made a confident stroke,” said Appleton, a 2009 graduate of UNC Wilmington.
The dramatics continued at the fifth extra hole, No. 10, where Greenlief, first to putt, drained a 20-footer for birdie before Appleton responded and firmed a 10-footer of her own into the back of the cup. After Appleton flew the green with her third shot at the seventh extra hole, the par-5 18th, Greenlief’s birdie chance dropped in the right side of the hole for victory.
“It’s definitely one of the highest points of my golf career,” Greenlief said. “To be able to defend against a tough field makes me feel really good about my game. We both played phenomenal golf.”
Said Appleton: “We both played great. I didn’t have one bogey in 25 holes, so I thought I played really solid golf the whole way. It was fun.”
Among the competitors playing from a second set of tees (5,148 yards), 10-year-old Naomi Mitchell of Norfolk shot a final round 81 (242, +26) to post a three-stroke victory over Williamsburg’s Colleen Robertson.
Results from the final, round of the 33rd Virginias Women’s Stroke Play Championship at Kingsmill Resort & Spa’s Woods Course (5,798 yards from the championship tees and 5,148 yards from the secondary set of tees par 36-36—72) on Thursday, June 17.
Championship Tees
First Flight
* – Lauren Greenlief (Oakton), 70-74-70—214
Christine Appleton (Seaford), 71-73-70—214
Mimi Hoffman (Springfield), 74-76-74—224
Elizabeth Brightwell (Nellysford), 74-79-73—226
Hunter Ross (Manakin-Sabot), 77-74-76—227
Paige Reese (South Hill), 77-76-77—230
Lyberty Anderson (Chesterfield), 80-80-72—232
Whitney Rhodes (Staunton), 76-78-79—233
Sydney Hudson (Hopewell), 82-79-73—234
Boodie McGurn (Richmond), 81-74-80—235
Cindy Morris (Portsmouth), 80-80-78—238
Sherry Bowman (Manassas), 79-79-81—239
Lauren Eklund (Charlottesville), 81-79-81—241
Susan Podolsky (Alexandria), 80-79-82—241
Lindsay Wortham (Richmond), 82-81-83—246
* – denotes won the championship with a birdie on the seventh extra hole, the par-5 18th hole.
Second Flight
Karen Kinnett (Shepherdstown, W.Va.), 80-86-81—247
Laura Davis (Salem), 86-82-79—247
Katie Cox (Alexandria), 88-81-79—248
Kerry Johnson (Chesapeake), 86-80-82—248
Dot Bolling (Salem), 84-90-77—251
Kristine Rohrbaugh (Midlothian), 82-92-78—252
Kay Tyler (Springfield), 86-84-85—255
Sophia Montenegro (Oakton), 88-88-80—256
Brenda Sites (Fredericksburg), 87-84-86—257
Jamie Brewer (Oak Hill), 85-93-85—263
Susan Krancer (Williamsburg), 90-93-91—274
Deborah McCune (McLean), 97-93-98—288
Ginni Ambrose (Virginia Beach), 112-112-95—319
Secondary Tees
Naomi Mitchell (Norfolk), 79-82-81—242
Colleen Robertson (Williamsburg), 84-75-86—245
Ellen McGowan (Wicomico), 80-82-83—245
Sandy Kenyon (Locust Grove), 82-81-83—246
Ann Mennell (Yorktown), 79-82-86—247
Charlotte McGinnis (Williamsburg), 82-83-83—248
Jan Kuppich (Williamsburg), 90-81-83—254
Mi Ham (Williamsburg), 92-80-84—256
Valerie Sarrett (Midlothian), 84-87-88—259
Evelyn Evans (Williamsburg), 90-86-87—263
Rica Rohrbaugh (Richmond), 91-82-90—263
Grace Braxton (Fredericksburg), 94-88-87—269
Mary Shields (Mattaponi), 94-94-88—276
Sharon Martin (Glen Allen), 93-90-94—277
Dorothy Allen (Williamsburg), 96-102-98—296