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By Sara Buechler
HOT SPRINGS — Two separate championships are being hosted at The Homestead this week: The Virginia State Golf Association Senior and Super Senior Women’s Amateur Championships.
Last year’s finalist, Boodie McGurn, of The Country Club of Virginia, was the stroke-play qualifying medalist in the Senior championship while defending champion Dot Bolling, of Hidden Valley Country Club, medaled in the Super Senior Championship.
McGurn topped Monday’s leaderboard after posting a 3-under 69 and will be the top seed in match play, which begins Tuesday. She was a finalist at last year’s Senior Women’s Amateur and fell to Andrea Miller, of the Club at Glenmore, in the title match. Miller posted a 1-over 73 and will be the No. 2 seed for championship flight match play.
“I played really well today,” McGurn said. “I just stayed in it and had some good bounces that I took advantage of and didn’t do anything stupid.”
Although McGurn finished her round with three bogeys, she made consecutive birdies on holes 7-9 and added three more on the back nine, bringing a grand total of six birdies.
“I had a couple bogeys, no big deal,” McGurn continued. “I had three bogeys and six birdies. I just had to stay patient. If you get on and take your bogey, that’s fine. The plan worked and my putter worked today.”
McGurn said her strategy going into Tuesday’s round of 16 is to regroup, continue to make putts and be patient. McGurn has previously won the Senior Women’s Amateur Championship three times, with her last win being in 2015.
Casey Burley, of Kiln Creek Golf Club and Resort, finished Monday’s round in third with a 2-over-par 74.
In the Super Senior Championship, Dot Bolling finished with a 1-over-par 73 and will be the top match-play seed in the eight-player championship flight. She finished four shots better than Barbara Wetters, of Williamsburg Golf Club, who posted a 5-over 77.
“I started off pretty haphazard,” Bolling said. “I had to get up and down on 1 and 3 for par.”
Bolling had two bogeys and a double bogey but cruised the rest of her round with making most of her pars and three birdies. She said her putting was strong Monday, but her wedges let her down.
“You can’t have it all,” Bolling said.
Bolling holds the all-time lead in VSGA Women’s titles. She has both Super Senior Women’s Amateurs and three of the four Super Senior Women’s Stroke Play titles under her belt.
As defending champion, Bolling still remains calm, cool and collected. There isn’t any added pressure going into this championship because “it’s a day-to-day thing, so anything can happen,” she said.
Finishing third, Marie Enderson, of Army Navy Country Club, posted a 6-over 78.
Buechler is a P.J. Boatwright intern with the VSGA.