Pictured: Jessica Spicer sinks the winning putt in the open division playoff.
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By Chris Lang
SPOTSYLVANIA — The twin sister duo of Sarah and Jessica Spicer made a birdie on the first playoff hole to claim the open division title at the 6th Virginia State Golf Association Women’s Four-Ball Championship, which concluded Sunday at Fawn Lake Country Club.
The Spicers, who played college golf at Virginia Tech, finished with a two-day 14-under 132 before fending off 2021 champions Lauren Greenlief and Alexandra Austin in the playoff.
In the senior division, Amy Ellertson and Natalie Easterly rolled to their sixth straight title in the event, finishing with a two-day 6-under 140 to finish seven strokes clear of their closest competitors.
THE STORY
The Spicer sisters entered Sunday with a four-shot lead over Greenlief and Austin, but they knew a victory wasn’t going come easily.
“Lauren and Alex aren’t going to give you anything,” Sarah said.
The Spicers maintained a three-stroke cushion at the turn on Sunday. But suddenly, the birdie putts that had been falling all weekend started to burn edges. They shot a 1-under 36 on the back. Greenlief and Austin took advantage of the Spicers’ relative lull in play, shooting a 4-under 33 on the back to storm back into contention. Each side made birdie on the par-5 17th and par on the par-4 18th, necessitating the playoff.
“I think the strategy today was just to make a couple of birdies early and tighten up the lead a little bit and make it a match,” Greenlief said. “I think we did that. We did a pretty good job of coming back from a pretty deep hole.”
The sides played the par-4 10th in the playoff. Sarah Spicer’s drive tailed to the left and settled in the thick rough, but undeterred, she hit a 23-degree hybrid to within three feet for an excellent look at birdie.
“It’s basically like a 5 hybrid,” Sarah said. “I was telling Jess, this rough is really thick, but that was the best lie I’ve seen in the rough over the course of two days. I felt like I got a little lucky there that I could even get a hybrid on it. I was a little in between clubs, but (Jessica) ended up making the club call, and it ended up being a great call.”
Jessica’s approach was about 15 feet from the hole, and she got an excellent read on her birdie putt from Austin, who had a similar line a few feet behind Jessica.
Jessica sank the birdie putt, forcing Greenlief to hit a 15-foot downhill slider to extend the playoff. It just missed, giving the Spicers the win.
“There were two little ball marks right in front of me, kind of making the perfect path,” Jessica said. “If I just hit it over that ball mark, it was going to go in, and I read it perfectly. Sarah and I had had so many putts all day that burned the edge, or did everything but go in. So I said, ‘we’re due, we’re due, it’s going to go in.’ And I knew it was perfect as soon as I hit it.”
Jessica’s putt stole the show from Sarah’s incredible approach. Just a case of one sister one-upping the other?
“You could see it that way,” Jessica said. “Or you could say I was just trying to keep the pressure off her, trying to be nice.”
Both of the sides involved in the playoff advanced to match play at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship in Puerto Rico last month, so it was no surprise to see them find success at Fawn Lake. The Spicers won an event as a four-ball side for the first time. What makes them click?
“We’ve both always had really good short games, and we’re both really good putters,” Sarah said. “We’re both really good grinders who can get it around no matter what. We’re similar, but different enough that it makes us a really good four-ball team. I can keep it in play, and she can be a little more aggressive. But we’re also similar enough that we know each other’s game really well, so we can be really good caddies and really supportive of each other out there.”
In the senior division, Ellertson and Easterly entered the day with a two-shot lead but quickly doubled it and maintained a comfortable cushion throughout the round. They followed Saturday’s 1-under 72 with a 5-under 67 on Sunday to continue their dominance of this championship.
Opening the day with a narrow lead renewed the side’s focus, Ellertson said.
“It did,” Ellertson said. “We didn’t make any putts yesterday. So today, we said the putts are going in, and bingo, we birdied the first hole, and it started rolling downhill from there.”
Easterly played with a large brace on her left knee and after the round acknowledged that she’ll eventually need a total knee replacement. Though she’d like to get through the entire golf season before having the procedure, she said pain will dictate when she has the surgery. With that uncertainty in mind, this win was one to cherish.
“I cherish every moment with Amy, it’s just a blast,” Easterly said. “She’s a great friend, and we have a good time together.”
Andrea Miller and Cindy Thompson posted a two-day 1-over 147 to finish alone in second.
NOTES AND QUOTES
- Austin on the key to her successful partnership with Greenlief: “I think we mesh well together. We have fun out there. We don’t put a ton of pressure on ourselves. We laugh. We talk about random things to keep our minds off it.”
- Greenlief on her approach shot into the green on the playoff hole, after having seen where Sarah Spicer’s approach settled: “I had a wedge in my hand, and I just tried to hit it as close as I could. I hit it a little further left than I wanted to, so it didn’t quite catch the slope. But I at least gave myself a chance at it.”
- Julie Shin and Sydney Hackett returned a two-day, 9-under 137 to finish alone in third in the open division. Sisters Melanie and Raquel Walker finished fourth at 5-under 141.
- This event marked the first time that Greenlief had entered the event and not won it. She has four titles, two with Austin and two with Shabril Derco.
- The Spicers’ 132 was the lowest two-day total in championship history.
- Easterly and Ellertson’s six victories have come by a combined 37 strokes.
- Joanne Kitusky and Shelley Savage finished alone in third in the senior division with a 3-over 149.
- Anita Shull and Chelsea Hester shot a 7-under 139 over two days to win the title in the net division.
Lang is the VSGA’s manager of media and communications.