DaRosa, Gravier are team champs
01:00 AM EDT on Friday, June 17, 2005
LINCOLN -- Sometimes it's all right to
ignore the script. Linda Darosa and Judy Gravier proved yesterday that there
are times when it actually can work out better that way.
Gravier and DaRosa, both from
Triggs, were one of the few duos in the Ocean State Women's Golf Association
two-player team championship yesterday that didn't take advantage of the
format.
They were not complaining,
though. Doing it their way gave them the title.
They combined for a 74 at
Lincoln Country Club to win the title by four strokes over the team of Carol
Wilson and Jean Maack. Wilson and Maack, from Laurel Lane, did not have to
settle for a second-place award, though. Their net 67 gave them the title in
that division.
It took some good numbers to
contend in any division, in part because the conditions were so good and also
because the format made it that way. The tournament called for each team to
record a better-ball score on the front nine, then play a scramble on the back
side.
A scramble, where the team
picks the best shot of the two team members, almost always produces a lower
score. Gravier and DaRosa did fine on that nine, with a 37.
What won them the title was
that they were just as good in the better-ball portion, also posting a 37. The
two started on the second hole in the shotgun start. DaRosa got the team in
position with pars at 3, 5 and 6. Gravier made sure they stayed strong with
pars on 8 and 9. The key hole was their ninth, the par-4 first.
There, DaRosa came within
inches of an eagle.
"It was a little bit of
knowledge and a lot of luck," she said. "We played here last year, so
we knew what it was like."
The first hole at Lincoln is
uphill, with the green on a ledge and banked steeply from left to right. DaRosa
hit her approach on the par 4 to the left side, where it needed to be, and the
ball rolled to less than a foot from the cup for a tap-in birdie and a 37 in
the better-ball portion of the competition. When they matched that in the
scramble, they had the title, although they took some kidding, too."
"Our playing partners
were kidding us, saying, 'You two like to play your own ball,' " DaRosa
said. Gravier and DaRosa did not mind the fun.
"We have the same
personalities (which is to enjoy the game while they play), which makes us good
partners," Gravier said.
Because Wilson and Maack took
low net, Barbara Charles and Rita Silveira took second low gross, with an 81,
and Joanne Stiness and Denise Drainville had an 83, for third. In the net, in
addition to Wilson and Maack, Nancy Giannetti and Susan Haake took second with
a 70, and Trudy Dufault and Donna DeBlasio were third with a 71.
In the "A" Division,
Maureen Dion and Ann Lizak took low gross with a 90, earning the top spot on
matching cards with the team of Sandra Butler and Caril Labonte, which also had
a 90. Carol Cherry and Nancy Rainone were third at 95. In net, Sharon Nowicki
and Sue Day won with a 73. Ann Drescher and Valerie Tessier took second, on
matching cards, over Liz Duguay and Suzanne Pettit. Both had 74s.