Two-time champ makes it
a three-peat
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There might have been no bling Friday for Blinn, as a result of her latest tournament triumph. But
her third straight title in the Ocean State Women's Golf Association's State
Women's Amateur earned the Seekonk,
"I
thought I played well," Blinn said after her
4-and-3 victory over Reilly, who plays out of Agawam Hunt in
Reilly said Newport National and its undulating greens
require strong course management.
"Some of the holes are short. You're tempted to blast
away. I prefer a little more conservative strategy. Not that it helped me
today. It didn't produce any birdies."
The 15th hole on the par-71, 5,217-yard layout
showcased Blinn's strengths Friday. Ahead by four
holes with four to play, Blinn, who plays out of
Crestwood in
Blinn's second shot sailed past the pin, setting up a 20-foot
downhill putt.
Her birdie bid slipped by the hole,
leaving her just a foot uphill for par.
Meanwhile, Reilly was on the fringe in two. She needed
to sink an uphill 15-footer for birdie to stay alive.
Her putt was true, although a tad too hard - leaving
her in the victor's arms.
"Everything yesterday that worked did not work for
me at all today," said Reilly, who outlasted Ally Caffrey
of Wannamoisett in
"It was bare misses all day long."
But a decisive victory for Blinn.
"Truly, the better player won," Reilly said.
"I can't even be upset about it. Val played brilliantly."
Blinn was 1-up after six holes when she broke open the match. She
made a par at 7 to go 2-up, a birdie at 8 with a 4-foot putt to go 3-up and
another par at 9 to be 4-up at the turn.
"That was a little discouraging for me,"
Reilly said about her deficit after the front nine. "Again, I couldn't
make a putt. For whatever reason."
In contrast, Blinn said she
was reading her putts well after finding her stroke Thursday in her 4-and-3
elimination of Jennifer Hendrick of Exeter Country
Club in the semifinals.
"I just felt I had a good stroke today and felt
confident. I don't think it was luck for me. I was just putting good rolls on
it," Blinn said.
Blinn's only hiccup came on No. 5. She missed "one
little footer" for a double bogey and lost the hole.
"That's the thing about match play, you just walk
away and tackle the next hole," she said. "Just forget about it and
move on. It's not a big deal."
Blinn's blitz - the wins at 7, 8 and 9 - looked like a big deal when
she was up big at the turn. But Blinn said she
doesn't feel comfortable in match play until "I start going dormie on a player and they're running out of holes."
(A match-play match has gone dormie
when one player achieves a lead that matches the holes remaining, and the
trailing player can only hope to tie in regulation.)
Both players had pars on the 10th before Blinn put the squeeze on tighter at the 11th when Reilly
had a bogey to fall five holes down.
Reilly got back to within four with a par at the 12th,
but went back to five down on the 13th with a three-putt bogey.
Now she was in a dormie
dilemma: five down with five holes to play.
Blinn couldn't close out the match at the 14th. She lost the hole
because she had to take a stroke penalty because of an unplayable lie as Reilly
made par.
But when Reilly hooked her tee shot over the stone wall
that skirts the left fairway at 15 and Blinn belted
an accurate, monster drive, the match was all but over.
And when it was, Blinn shed a
few tears over her latest win in a bittersweet summer.
William Blinn Jr, her father, died suddenly in his sleep on June 15. He
was 54.
"It's kind of tough for me because he's usually
out here (or) calling me in the morning and the afternoon (for results)," Blinn said. "It's hard not having him out here. It's
kind of emotional for me."
Which meant she was thankful to have
a gracious foe's shoulder to lean on at the conclusion of her three-peat.
"Kibbe's a good friend
and great competitor," Blinn said about her
blonde counterpart. "We play a lot together."
"I don't mind losing to Val," Reilly said.
"She's a great kid and a terrific player."