Harrison wins Southern Senior Championship
by Mary Capouch
Julie Harrison of Baton Rouge
captured the 31st Women’s Southern
Golf Association Senior Championship
Wednesday at The Conservatory Course at
Hammock Beach in Palm Coast, Florida,
after a spectacular 54 holes of golf.
Harrison posted 75 on opening day and
followed up with a 2-under 70 on Tuesday
to take the lead headed into the final
round. Wednesday, she shot a 73 for a 54hole total of 218 – seven shots better than
her nearest competitor.
“This is a great win for me and the
Louisiana delegation,” said Harrison after
the round. “The last big win I had was the
Louisiana State Amateur Championship
in 2004, so this was huge for me.”
Harrison got off to a slow start as she was
3 over after 4 holes which included her first
double bogey of the championship. “I then
went back to my plan of hitting fairways
and greens and made two birdies to make
the turn at 37,” said the champion. She
then birdied number 10 to get back to even
par for the day.
“Mentally, I had to work hard not
to get ahead of myself going down the
stretch. I closed out with a birdie on 17
and then bogeyed 18 to finish at 73,” said
Harrison, a Houston, Texas native whose
background includes being a swimmer at
LSU. Harrison is married to Britt, who is a
former All-American golfer at Oklahoma
State and a former golf coach at LSU.
“I had a great day out there playing
with the Florida ladies, including Taffy
Brower, Gigi Higgins and Laura Carson,”
said Harrison after the round. “The
Conservatory is an awesome golf course,
and we need to give a big thanks to them.
But most of all we need to thank President
Audrey Songy and the WSGA board for
all they do to put this tournament on.”
Runner-up honors went to Therese
Quinn of Jacksonville, Florida with a
three-day total of 225. Third went to
Laura Carson at 227 with the Florida duo
of Taffy Brower and Gigi Higgins finishing
at 229.
Capturing the first flight was Tama
Caldabaugh with a 237. Janie Carpenter
shot 243 to win the second flight with
Maria Malone taking the third flight with
a 256. The fourth flight winner was Julia
Roth with a 268 and the duo of Suzzette
Kirchner and Bonnie Longaker tied for
first in the fifth flight with 285.
Next year’s senior championship will
be contested at The Homestead in Hot
Springs, Virginia.
Also competing from Louisiana: Sharon
Berken, Lake Arthur; Mary Edwards,
Jonesville; Pam Fossett, Lake Charles; Julia
McKey, Slaughter; Becky Meaux, Lake
Charles; Sandra Smith, Delhi; and Chris
Stoute, Westlake.
For further details:
www.womenssoutherngolfassociation.org.
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