White leads the charge in
OSWGA
With the
pain in her right elbow reduced, thanks to a cortisone shot, White played
near-par golf as she topped Potowomut's Felicia Revens, 3 and 2, in the
quarterfinals at Triggs.
Summary on
Page D-4
White was
part of a sweep by the top four seeds into the semis. Still, it was anything but
easy for all four victors. All four received stern tests.
Ally
Caffrey, the medalist, had to come from behind to get past Karen Dufault, 2 and
1; Valerie Blinn, the defending champion, did not take contorl until late before
topping Kibbe Reilly, 4 and 3; and Amber Weller, a semifinalist last year, had
the toughest time of all, winning the 18th hole to square the match, then edging
Jennifer Hendrick on the 19th when Hendrick's downhill eight-footer for par,
which would have kept the match alive, hung on the lip.
White, at
age 40 not only is the oldest of the survivors -- Blinn and Weller are both 23,
Caffrey 18 -- she also is the only one who has not been playing much golf this
year. She is the executive director of the Joint Committee on Legislative
Services.
Even when
she hasn't been at the State House, her golf has been limited because of the
tendinitis.
On the
course, she had pain, she said, "especially when I don't hit it clean. If I hit
it cleanly, it's not bad. But if I hit it fat, that's when I really feel
it."
For the
last month, White took accupuncture treatments to try to alleviate the pain.
When that did not work, she decided to take a cortisone
shot.
"I have to
thank Dr. (Peter) Pizzarello," White said after her victory yesterday. "It feels
better than it has all year." It showed in her match against
Revens.
"I shot 35
on the front. I can't do any better than that," Revens said. "We had a great
match." The two went back and forth until White clinched it at the 16th. There,
Revens hit over the green and against the wall on the property's edge. She had
to try to hit a shot between her legs, a shot that came off all right. But it
was enough to lose the hole and the match and leave White as the lone survivor
with the three young stars.
White will
meet Caffrey in the semis. Caffrey, who is headed to the University of Richmond
to play golf in the fall, had to come on strong to get past Dufault. Dufault was
one over on the front, including birdies at 2 and 8. It wasn't until Caffrey won
the par-5 12th with a birdie and the 13th and 14th with pars that the medalist
got breathing room.
Blinn also
took control late after being pushed much of the match against Reilly. She was
even through 13 before a birdie on the 14th sparked a strong finish. She will
meet Weller in the semis for the second year in a row. Weller survived despite
not playing her best.
"I played
seven good holes," she said of her victory against Hendrick. Those were the
first seven. She had a 4-up lead at that point. But Hendrick came charging back.
She pulled even, then took the lead with a birdie on the par-3 14th. The two
were tied going to 17, where Hendrick nearly holed out from the fairway on the
par-4 and had a tap-in birdie form inside a foot.
Both hit
the green on the par-4 closing hole in regulation. But Hendrick had a 40-footer
from behind the hole, Weller an 18-footer. Hendrick's putt came up seven feet
short and she missed the par putt. Weller made routine par to win the hole and
square the match.
On the
19th, Weller made routine par. Hendrick was just short in two and chipped eight
feet past. Her par putt was on line but stopped on the front
edge.