Her round's par for the course as Blinn wins
Stroke Play title
BY ROBERT LEE
Journal Sports Writer
Heading into her final hole of the day, the
360-yard, par-4 sixth, Blinn, of Seekonk, was doing
even better than she expected. She was 1 under par and held a comfortable lead
in the tourney.
But then, as it had done earlier in the day,
heavy rain hit the area . Blinn bogeyed her final hole
and finished with an even-par 72, which was exactly what she wanted to shoot.
The bogey on her last hole did not affect the
outcome. By then, Blinn, who turns 23 today, was home free. She dominated the
field and won by six strokes to earn an early birthday present -- the tourney
title. Donna Warner (78), last year's Ocean State Women's Golf Association
point-total winner, finished second, and three-time All-Stater Ally Caffrey
(Bay View) came in third (79).
"I hit the ball really well," Blinn
said. "I had a couple of birdies, but I didn't putt very well at the end.
I missed a few putts that I could have made, but other than that I just hit
some shots that I needed to hit."
She had a feeling that things were going to go
her way after the first hole. She carded an eagle on the 390-yard, par-5
seventh hole to begin what turned out to be a memorable day.
"I was just trying to make pars,"
Blinn said. "I wasn't trying to make any birdies. I just wanted to make
par, and I was 2 under making the turn and I ended up doubling my first hole
when I came back out. But then I got back down to 1 under on the next
hole."
Blinn said she had no problem keeping the ball
on the fairway.
"I kept it in play,
that was the biggest thing. I did make some big putts early. The course
was in great condition. The greens were in good shape."
With 3,425 points, Blinn holds a 200-point
lead over Carol Clarey on the OSWGA points
leaderboard.
Yesterday's victory added another trophy to an
already full case. Since picking up her first golf club at age 11, Blinn has
been winning tournaments all over
"A lot of hard work is starting to slowly
pay off," Blinn said. "My game has gotten a lot better. I've been
working really hard on improving my swing and it's starting to pay off."
Blinn last year graduated from the
She helped lead the Red Flash to three
Northeast Conference championships during her four years there, and she made
the NEC all-conference team in three of her four seasons.
Blinn now has her sights set on qualifying for
the U.S. Amatuer. She will be competing in the qualifying rounds beginning July
5. She hopes to one day turn pro, but she isn't setting any time limit.
"I feel that when I'm ready (to turn
pro), I'll know it," Blinn said. "Right now, I'm just trying to
improve my swing, and I think by the end of the season if I'm ready to go and
try and take the next step, then I will. If I don't, then I'll give it another
year and come back and play with all of my friends and have fun."
CHAMPIONSHIP
GROSS -- Valerie Blinn, 72; Donna Warner, 78;
Ally Caffrey, 79; NET -- Deb Cyronak, 68; Cissy Grady, 71; Karen Adams, 73.
A DIVISION
GROSS -- Linda Darosa, 83; Beth Ellinwood, 84;
Carol Wilson, 85; NET -- Kris Kennedy, 70; Judy Gravier, 70; Trudy Dufault, 71.
B DIVISION
GROSS -- Jackie Booth, 89; Donna DeBlasio, 92;
Cindi Spencer, 94; NET -- Kathy Mis, 69; Diane Ellis, 72; Carolyn Brown, 73.
C DIVISION
GROSS -- Sue Day, 91; Roberta Cook, 95; Linda
Albamonti, 99; NET --
D DIVISION
GROSS -- Judy Vallani, 99; Valerie Tessier,
103; Anna Jones 104; NET -- Mel Palambo, 64; Lucy Levada, 68; Louise Picard,
69.