BANGS — Local golfer Sherry Dupler, who birdied the par-3 16th hole, shot a 36 on the back nine to take the overall championship of the Knox County Women’s Open Golf Tournament with a score of 66 at Chapel Hill Golf Course on Monday.
Dupler, who shot a gross 74 with a 12 handicap, was tied for the lead after the front nine with Chris Koch (76 gross, 10 hdcp, 66 overall). Linda Connell was third (79, 15, 64).
“Well, I just wanted to keep the ball in play,” said Dupler. “I didn’t start out real well and I don’t keep my own score, so I didn’t even know I was tied. I just played with the same ball and I didn’t lose it. I was happy.”
Although Dupler wasn’t aware of her score, she was aware Koch was having a good run.
“Chris was giving me fits because she was playing so well,” said Dupler. “That kept me on my toes. Other than that, I didn’t know what I was shooting.”
Of course, unless you know your score, it always seems like everyone is playing better than you.
“It does because I just couldn’t see where [Koch] had made a mistake,” said Dupler. “She had a couple of bad holes but, still, she was playing solid. I thought, ‘Oh, I’m going to get stomped.’ I just couldn’t get used to these greens on the first nine — they were so fast compared to what I’m used to putting on.”
Dupler’s game got stronger on the back nine, where she had an impressive hole at 11 when she was only trying to play it cautious.
“I laid up,” said Dupler, who birdied the par-4 11. “I didn’t want to go into the creek. I just happened to put it 2 or 3 feet from the cup.”
Her birdie on the 16th was the highlight going down the back nine for Dupler, as she took the lead and held on.
“I made a good putt there,” said Dupler. “It was about 10 to 15 feet. It was probably the longest one I made all day. What saved me on several holes was that I chipped close. I was hitting the ball well off the tee, but second shots weren’t getting me anywhere near the green sometimes. I chipped and saved myself several times, and that’s how I got ahead of Chris.”
Dupler was pleased with the course conditions; in fact, she said, they were so good, she had to get used to it.
“I think this course is in great shape. It’s amazing,” said Dupler. “We played on one yesterday that was a swamp. You had to hit it with a sledge hammer to get it to move. I dragged that with me here on the front half and I motored several shots past the cup. We got a lot of roll on the fairways today. The course is in excellent shape.”
Flight winners were as follows: First flight — Low gross winner: Chris Koch 76; Low net winner: Linda Connell 64; Second low gross: Linda Neer 83; Second low net: Hazel Peterson 70; Second flight — Low gross winner: Liz Hunnicut 87; Low net winner: Kim Mickley 71; Second low gross: Deb McCament 89; Second low net: Barb Priest 75; Third flight — Low gross winner: Linda Siess 95; Low net winner: Carol Mayhew 71; Second low gross: Anita Stickle 98; Second low net: Shelley Coon 73; Fourth flight — Low gross winner: Patsy Hommon 103; Low net winner: Jane Simmons 68; Second low gross: Betty Tharp 106; Second low net: Susan Snyder, Doris Jacobs 69.
