NOTE TO MEDIA: Links to scoring, the event preview, photos and
previous recaps from this event can be found on the event portal at the link
posted above. Please click on the “Media” tab to find those items.
By Chris Lang
RICHMOND — When Lauren Greenlief last won the Virginia
State Golf Association’s Women’s Stroke Play Championship in 2011, she was
still in school at the University of Virginia.
“So the cast of
characters has changed a bit,” she said Thursday after claiming her fourth championship
in the event, and her second at Willow Oaks Country Club.
True. In 2011, she
finished seven strokes clear of Carol Robertson, now Virginia Tech’s women’s golf
coach. In 2019, she finished the event six strokes clear of Norfolk teenager
Becca DiNunzio, who will begin playing for Robertson’s Hokies later this
summer.
“It feels really
good,” said Greenlief, who posted a three-day aggregate 215, one shot better
than her 2011 total at Willow Oaks. “It’s been awhile since I won my last one.
I won three in a row real quick and then took a break where I wasn’t playing in
the tournament for a bit, and then I had a couple of years where I really wasn’t
in contention. It’s nice to be back in the winner’s circle. It’s pretty cool.”
Greenlief
(International CC), who opened the round with a five-shot lead, shot a second
straight round of 2-under 70, leaving the final round of the 42nd
playing of the Women’s Stroke Play bereft of much drama. DiNunzio (VSGA Junior
Golf Circuit) returned the best single-round score of the tournament Thursday,
shooting a 3-under 69 that included four birdies in a row at one point. But she
never got closer than within six strokes of the lead.
Old Dominion women’s
golf coach Mallory Hetzel and Danville’s Mariah Hopkins tied for third at 225.
In the 22nd
Senior Women’s Stroke Play Championship, Leesburg’s Allisyn Terry (River Creek
Club) earned her first championship, using steady putting to post a 2-over 74
for a two-day 149, two shots better than Vienna’s Mary Cabriele (CC of
Fairfax).
Richmond’s Boodie
McGurn (CC of Virginia) was victorious in the 2nd VSGA Super Senior
Women’s Stroke Play Championship, returning a 5-over 77 on Thursday for a
two-day 151, seven strokes better than defending champion Dot Bolling of Salem.
Greenlief’s victory
is her second in a VSGA championship this month, as she teamed with Shabril
Derco to win the VSGA Women’s Four-Ball title at Fawn Lake two weekends ago.
Next up is a trip to the inaugural Donna Andrews Invitational at Boonsboro
Country Club, followed by a summer of high-profile events that include the
North & South Women’s Amateur at Pinehurst and the U.S. Women’s Amateur
Championship. Greenlief is exempt from qualifying for the Women’s Am thanks to
her quarterfinal appearance last year.
“I’ve had some good
finishes,” Greenlief said. “I think my World (Amateur) Golf Ranking next week
should be in the top 200. I’ve set a goal for myself to break into the top 100
this summer. I’m well on my way.”
As for what she
wants to work on this summer, Greenlief said, “Getting a little cleaner around
the greens. … I think my long game is there, but it’s about getting my short
game a little more crisp.”
22nd VSGA Senior Women’s Stroke
Play Championship
Terry won a couple
of prestigious titles in 1995—the Arizona Women’s Match Play and the
Massachusetts Amateur. But as far as senior titles go, this week’s victory at
Willow Oaks ranks right up there.
“It feels great,
because all of our top senior ladies here,” Terry said. “It feels really good.
It’s a state title, so it means something.”
She admitted to
some nerves before Thursday’s final round, where she opened with a one-stroke
lead over Alexandria’s Linda DiVall (Mount Vernon CC). She topped her first tee
shot of the day and topped several others during the round, but she managed to
keep herself afloat thanks to strong scrambling and putting.
“I think I was just
so focused on the flag that one way or another, I was getting it there,” she
said. “I did not strike the ball well.”
When Terry came to
the ninth green (the seniors started off No. 10 on Thursday), she wasn’t quite
sure where she stood in the tournament. That was a good thing, she said, as it
allowed her to simply focus on what she needed to do rather than what others in
the field were doing.
It turned out
Cabriele was her closest pursuer. Cabriele’s bid for birdie on 9 came up a bit
short, allowing Terry to win the championship with a bogey. Springfield’s Mimi
Hoffman (153) finished third and Alexandria’s Joan Gardner (154) took fourth. Terry
is hoping this week’s result portends a strong run in upcoming senior events.
“My kids went off
to college last year, and this year is the first time that I’ve had time to
really work on my game and focus on me and golf instead of lacrosse and
basketball and getting them into colleges,” Terry said. “Mom has some time now.
In the past, I was pulled in so many different directions. Now, I can just
focus on golf.”
2nd VSGA Super Senior Women’s
Stroke Play Championship
McGurn’s biggest
concern entering this week was finishing 36 holes. That’s understandable,
considering complications from a knee replacement had limited her opportunities
to play and practice in the last eight months or so.
Not only did she
finish, but she finished strong. She opened the day with a five-stroke lead
over Bolling, an edge that expanded to seven shots by the turn. That allowed her
to play free and easy for the rest of the round.
“I came out
thinking, you can’t shoot 90, so just come out and swing away,” McGurn said. “My
leg is allowing me to do that, so I did, and it’s all good.”
McGurn played in
the super senior division (ages 65 and older) because she was unsure of how her
knee would hold up to the stress of two days of play after so much time off.
The shorter yardages allowed her to test her body. This week left her
encouraged about her prospects of returning to the younger senior group (50-64)
for the upcoming Women’s Virginias-Carolinas Matches and the VSGA Senior Women’s
Amateur.
“If I was playing
in the regular senior, I would have been playing with all my buddies and
pushing to hit with them, and I didn’t need to do that,” McGurn said. “So this
was a godsend. It was really nice to have this.”
Lang is the editor of Virginia Golfer magazine and the VSGA’s manager,
digital media.