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By Chris Lang
SPOTSYLVANIA — The reigning champions in both divisions at the 4th
Virginia State Golf Association Women’s Four-Ball Championship successfully defended
their titles Saturday at Fawn Lake Country Club.
Free Union’s Amy Ellertson and
Charlottesville’s Natalie Easterly continued their mastery of the event,
posting a two-day aggregate 11-under-par 133 to finish 11 strokes clear of the field.
They’ve won the senior division all four years in which the event has been
contested.
There was slightly more drama in
the regular division, where Ashburn’s Lauren Greenlief earned her third title
in the event’s short history, and her second straight with partner Shabril
Derco of Suffolk. Greenlief and Derco opened the day with a two-stroke lead
over teenagers Danielle Suh of Herndon and Tatum Walsh of Midlothian, and they
ended the day with the same cushion after both sides posted 2-under-par 70s
Saturday.
Greenlief and Derco (Cedar Point
CC) returned a two-day aggregate 9-under 135 to secure the title.
Suh and Walsh got within one
stroke of Greenlief and Derco twice Saturday but could never quite catch the
leaders. Greenlief and Derco bogeyed the par-4 13th hole, opening
the door for Suh and Walsh. But Greenlief birdied the par-5 14th
while Walsh (Salisbury CC) and Suh (VSGA Junior Golf Circuit) both made par,
pushing the edge back to two strokes.
“I think that was the biggest
thing,” Derco said. “Whenever we made bogey, we had a par 5 next, and we knew
we could get it back.”
Added Greenlief: “We had a lot
more length in our twosome, and I think that length on the par 5s gave us a big
advantage.”
Greenlief and Derco are longtime
friends who played together at Fairfax’s International Country Club, where
Greenlief is still a member. The Women’s Four-Ball Championship gives them a
chance to reconnect on the course and have some fun during a competition.
“I look forward to doing this
every year,” Derco said. “I don’t play as much as Lauren now, but this is just
a fun tournament for me to play in with her.”
Added Greenlief: “It’s focused,
but it’s not a grind like it might be in other tournaments. It’s fun partner
golf, that’s what we tell each other.”
There was no drama in the senior
division, where Ellertson (Farmington CC) and Easterly (CC of Virginia) won by
double digits for the second straight year, finishing 11 clear of Glen Allen’s Joanne
Kitusky (The Dominion Club) and Arlington’s Shelley Savage (Army Navy CC).
“Natalie did great on the front,
made two birdies that really kept us in there,” Ellertson said. “On the back,
we eagled the par 5 and went eagle-birdie-birdie. So you’re 4 under for three
holes, and that’ll do it. That was pretty much it.”
Ellertson and Easterly will
likely have a chance to play together again next month at the Women’s
Virginias-Carolinas Matches. Afterward, Ellertson will kick off a summer of
national and international tournaments, including the U.S. Women’s Amateur, the
British Ladies Amateur and the Canadian Women’s Amateur.
Chris Lang is the Editor of Virginia Golfer Magazine and Manager,
Digital Media for the VSGA.