Janet Moore of Centennial won her record eighth CWGA Mashie Championship and Susie Roh of Denver her first, but they both have an impressive rate of success in the four-ball match play event.
Moore, a Colorado Golf Hall of Famer, has captured the title eight of the 23 times the tournament has been held. And Roh, her teammate, is now one-for-one after claiming the championship in her first time competing.
In Thursday’s championship flight final at Todd Creek Golf Club in Thornton, Moore and Roh scored a 3-and-2 victory over two college golfers who reside in Colorado, 2016 champion Gillian Vance from the University of Colorado and partner Jaylee Tait from Montana State University.
Moore put her team over the top with a 6-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole, while Vance missed a 5-footer that would have prolonged the match.
Moore has now won Mashie titles with three different partners “” six times with fellow Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Christie Austin, once with Moore competing with her daughter Sarah, and once with Roh. (The 2017 champs are pictured together at top and below, with Moore at left.) But Moore’s last Mashie title with any partner had been 2011.
“The strength of my game in Mashies is picking great partners,” Moore said with a laugh. “And I did that really well this time. Susie is a great player and held us in there the whole time. And she played great yesterday (at Saddleback Golf Club in the semifinals); she shot 68. I didn’t contribute on any hole until the very last hole.”
For Roh, a former professional who once won a mini-tour event and now is a very good mid-amateur player, it was her first CWGA championship of any sort. Meanwhile, it’s believed to be Moore’s 20th, with 15 two-person team titles complementing her five CWGA Stroke Play championships in the 1990s.
“I was really nervous the first day and Janet carried us (in the quarterfinals). Then we kind of flip-flopped (in the semifinals),” Roh said. “But every match we had was a grind.”
In the final, Vance and Tait won the first hole with Tait’s birdie, but they fell behind when Roh carded back-to-back birdies on holes 7 and 8. Roh gave her team a 3-up lead with a two-putt birdie on No. 14. Then after Vance and Tait won the 15th hole with a par, Moore ended things with her birdie on 16.
“We were both very consistent “” too consistent,” said Tait, the 2016 CWGA Match Play runner-up who was competing in the Mashie for the first time. “We birdied the first hole, then nothing after that. You can’t really win this with pars.” (Tait and Vance are pictured together, with Tait at left.)
Added Vance: “It was a long drought. But it was just fun to play with these women. We played with Janet last year (in the final), and it’s just always fun to play with them. I know they’re super good. It’s just a blast to be out here, honestly.”
In both the semifinals and the final, Moore, 52, and Roh, 43, defeated opponents made up of college players. But on Thursday, Roh often out-drove Vance, a former 5A state high school champion, and Tait, a former U.S. Women’s Amateur qualifier.
“Susie here can bomb it, so that was fun,” Moore said. “Her length is definitely a huge plus “” and she’s just a competitor, so she’s fun to play with.
“But (college opponents) come out and they get a little nervous that they’re going to get beat by an old lady. We have that advantage that we’re older and maybe can sneak up on them a little bit.”
But no matter the opponent, and no matter how many CWGA championships she has under her built, adding another puts a smile on Moore’s face.
“It’s very satisfying,” she said. “It’s fun to still be able to compete.”
The Mashie marked the first CWGA championship of 2017.
Champions of the other flights on Thursday were:
First Flight: Vickie Brown and Sally Lawrence
Second Flight: Mary Repetto and Carla Stearns
Third Flight: Kim Gould and Theresa Lange
Fourth Flight: Alison O’Connor and Pat O’Connor
Fifth Flight: Darlene Evans and Beckie Harkey
Sixth Flight: Bonnie Catalano and Pam Levkulich
Seventh Flight: Dee Riedel and Sharon Thiel
Eighth Flight: Maree Albright and Joyce Craig
Ninth Flight: Judy Jones and Teresa Smiley
Tenth Flight: Lesley Ackerman and Lori Maul
For results from all the flights, CLICK HERE.
