But they have this much in common: Neither left any doubt in their title matches at the 98th CWGA Match Play Championship at the Club at Rolling Hills in Golden.
Spinzig (pictured at left), a senior-to-be on the Colorado State University golf team, defeated CSU-Pueblo golfer Michaela Breit, 10 and 9 in the open-division championship match that was scheduled for 36 holes. And Eaton (pictured below), who like Breit grew up in Greeley, beat defending champion Mary Doyen of Foothills Golf Course 6 and 5 in the senior championship flight final. It was Eaton’s second senior title in this event following her 2010 win.
In both the open and senior championship flights, the margins of victory were the largest in the CWGA Match Play finals dating back through at least 2005, before which record-keeping is incomplete.Winning a state amateur “is a big deal,” Spinzig said. “I came into this week feeling pretty good about my game, but actually winning is a whole different story. I’ve never won anything like this before, so I’m pretty excited.
“It makes me more excited for this coming year in college. It gives me a little more confidence that I can play with people who are better than me at this level.”
In a matchup of 21-year-olds, Spinzig birdied three of the first five holes Wednesday and was 1 under par at the turn of the first round. She struggled some on the back nine, but was 8 up on Breit through 13 holes.
Breit, who plays out of Highland Hills Golf Course, won two straight holes on the front nine of the afternoon round to narrow the gap to 7 down, but Spinzig’s even-par 36 on that side was enough to end the match after 27 holes.
“She threw three birdies at me in the first five holes; she played very well today,” Breit (pictured at left) said of Spinzig. “I didn’t play my best. The first two days I was rolling my putts in all the time. Today I rolled in a couple of (long ones) but the 7-footers that were dropping no matter where I was Tuesday and Monday just didn’t go in today. It happens. She put up one heck of a good score today.“But just the fact that I can say I got second place (in a state amateur), I’m really happy with how I did this week.”
At Rolling Hills, where being above the hole can sometimes result in putting off the green — even for championship players — Spinzig probably had an advantage on the greens. That’s because she grew up playing Hiwan, which features similarly devilish putting surfaces.
“Usually putting is a pretty big strength,” said Spinzig (pictured at left with her trophy). “My home course is Hiwan, so I felt pretty comfortable out here. But when you’re above the hole putting downhill, it’s really hard to stop the putt anywhere. I think we all had a few of those putts this week.”In the senior championship flight final, Eaton made a statement on the first nine by winning five straight holes (Nos. 3-7) with pars. Doyen cut the deficit with pars that won holes 8 and 9, where Eaton three-putted.
But Eaton birdied two of the first three holes on the back nine, then closed it out by halving No. 13 with a bogey.
“I didn’t play like I did the last two days,” said Eaton, who will turn 54 next month. “Before today my last four rounds had been under par. For me to play four or five (straight) days under par is usually unheard of.”
Doyen was seeking her second straight senior championship flight title, but she likewise wasn’t at her best on Wednesday.
“I knew I would really have to bring my ‘A’ game to have a chance,” the 61-year-old said. “Unfortunately, I didn’t. Kim is a great player. I did the best I could, but it wasn’t nearly enough today.”
This week, Eaton prevailed in her three matches by margins of 10 and 8 — winning every hole in the quarterfinals — 4 and 3, and 6 and 5.
For Eaton, who now lives in Arizona most of the year but is spending part of this summer in Colorado, Wednesday marked a victory milestone. It was her 20th CWGA title — or “the big 2-0” as she put it. She’s won four Stroke Plays, one Match Play, one Junior Match Play, three Senior Stroke Plays, two Senior Match Plays, and nine team events: six Brassies, one Mashie, one Chapman and one Mixed.
“Anytime you can keep winning state championships they’re always special,” Eaton said.
And her success is by no means limited to Colorado. Between Colorado, Arizona and California, she’s won 11 state senior individual championships since turning 50. Just this year, she’s claimed senior titles in California, Arizona and Colorado.
CWGA Match Play Championship
At the Club at Rolling Hills in Golden
Open Championship Flight Final — Christina Spinzig, Hiwan GC def. Michaela Breit, Highland Hills GC, 10 and 9
Open Championship Flight Consolation Final — Jennifer Kupcho, CommonGround GC def Taylor Dorans, Eagle Trace GC 21 holes
Senior Championship Flight Final — Kim Eaton, Riverdale GC def Mary Doyen, Foothills GC 6 & 5
Senior Championship Flight Consolation Final — Cindy Pallatino, CommonGround GC def Sue Davis, CommonGround GC 2 & 1
Open First Flight Final — Jennie Chun, Lone Tree GC def Lori Lawrence, Cherry Hills CC 1 up
Open First Flight Consolation Final — Sheila Shroeder, Broken Tee GC def. Susan Schell, Red Rocks CC 4 & 2
Senior First Flight Final — Jessi McVay, CommonGround GC def Christie Austin, Cherry Hills GC 1 up
Senior First Flight Consolation Final — Jane Ford, Todd Creek GC def Jennifer Hocking, Cherokee Ridge GC 19 holes
Senior Second Flight Final — Kay Geitner, South Suburban GC def Donna Edelen, Riverdale GC 4 & 3
Senior Second Flight Consolation Final — Cindy Davis, Fox Hollow GC def Jennie Jones, Raccoon Creek GC 3 & 1
Senior Third Flight Final — Rose Rismanchi, Fitzimons GC def Carolyn Badley, The Club at Rolling Hills 4 & 3
Senior Third Flight Consolation Final — Sherry Lewis, Vail GC def Becky Finger, Riverdale GC 5 & 3
It was a successful week for teenagers and sixty-somethings alike at the CWGA Match Play Championship at The Fox Hill Club in Longmont.
While 18-year-old Allie Johnston of Red Hawk Ridge Golf Course became one of the youngest winners in the 97-year history of the tournament, 60-year-old Mary Doyen of Foothills Golf Course proved age and experience can be assets in golf as she claimed the senior division championship title.
Johnston, the 2011 CWGA Junior Player of the Year, rallied down the stretch on Wednesday to post a 1-up win in 36 holes over defending champion Somin Lee of Denver. And Doyen earned her second consecutive CWGA senior title by notching a 5-and-4 title match victory over Deb Hughes of Green Valley Ranch Golf Club. (Johnston and Doyen are pictured above with their trophies.)
“Turning 60 ain’t so bad,” Doyen said after backing up her CWGA Senior Stroke Play win in 2011 with Wednesday’s victory. And, just for good measure, she also recorded a hole-in-one this week, acing the 130-yard 11th hole on Monday with an 8-iron.
“I’ve got good karma,” she said. “It was just a good week.”
Likewise for Johnston (pictured at left), who will play golf for the University of Texas-San Antonio beginning in the fall. She not only won her third CWGA championship — following the 2011 Junior Stroke Play and the 2012 Mashie team title — but she showed considerable resiliency in the process.
Johnston, who was 3 up after the morning round, faltered in the afternoon and was 2 down after 31 holes. But she took advantage of back-to-back three-putts by Lee to win the 32nd and 33rd holes, the second of those with a two-putt birdie.
Then Johnston won a third straight hole with an approach shot that finished a foot from the cup for a birdie at No 16. She kept her 1-up lead on the 35th hole despite a tough, long bunker shot from an uphill lie. She blasted the 25-yard shot to 5 feet and made the par putt.
Then, after Lee lipped out a 6-foot birdie attempt on the 36th hole, Johnston closed out the match by draining a 4-foot par putt.
“I was just extremely angry at myself for losing five holes to her (earlier in the afternoon round),” Johnston said. “I was trying to swing good and I just didn’t want to lose. That was my only thought: I don’t want to lose.”
In playing her last four holes in 2 under par, Johnston denied Lee from becoming the first back-to-back CWGA Match Play champion since Wendy Werley in 1988 and ’89.
“I’m not going to lie: I think I put too much pressure on myself to defend the title,” said Lee (pictured at left), a Pepperdine University golfer who has won four individual CWGA state championships. “I left many shots out there. But I shouldn’t regret anything. (Johnston) played really good. I guess I just didn’t play good enough to win this thing again.”
After lipping out the birdie putt that would have forced extra holes, Lee couldn’t bring herself to watch as Johnston holed the match winner.
Perhaps not coincidentally, Johnston played her best golf when she was fatigued after walking and carrying her clubs for 36 holes on Wednesday.
“I was so tired (at the end) I couldn’t think, so it really helped,” she said with a chuckle. “That was my theory going into this round walking was maybe I won’t think once I get tired.
“But I’m so happy,” added Johnston, who ranks this title as one of her best, along with an AJGA championship she won last year in Texas. “This has just really, really made my week. That was so much fun. I’m still stuck on it.”
In the senior final, Doyen (pictured at left) never trailed and built a 5-up lead after 10 holes en route to her 5-and-4 victory. Doyen’s prowess on the greens proved too much for Hughes, a qualifier for the last two USGA Senior Women’s Amateurs.
“When I grow up, I want to putt like Mary Doyen,” Hughes said with a smile. “That’s all I have to say. It was uncanny. She had her distance correct, she had her pace, her line, everything. Everything was just dead-on. I didn’t stand a chance with her putting.”
Doyen carded three birdies on the day in ending the match at No. 14.
“Today it was there,” she said. “I was listening to a meditation tape by (sports psychologist) Bob Rotella on the way up (driving to Fox Hill),” Doyen said. “I missed the Longmont exit because I was meditating. I was just in a zone. It was one of those days where things were just good.”
The result was Doyen’s second CWGA title in less than 11 months.
“Winning any state championship is just marvelous,” she said. “I’m just elated. I’m just as pleased as I can be that I won a second one. I’m not sure I ever thought I’d win a first one.”
CWGA Match Play Championship
At The Fox Hill Club in Longmont
Open Championship Flight — Allie Johnston, Red Hawk Ridge Wga def. Somin Lee, Heatheridge Associates 1 up
Open Championship Flight Consolation — Amy Hodgkinson, The Fox Hill Club WGA def. Paige Crawford, Patty Jewett Wga 1 up
Senior Championship Flight — Mary Doyen, Foothills Wga def. Deb Hughes, Green Valley Ranch Wga 5 and 4
Senior Championship Flight Consolation — Jessi McVay, Commonground Lga def.Sally Lawrence, Broken Tee Englewood Wga 2 up
First Flight — Charlotte Jorgensen, Highland Meadows GC def. Jennifer Hocking, Valley Hi Golf Course 2 up
First Flight Consolation — Vickie Brown, Canongate Colorado Wgc def. Kristie Schwab, Omni Interlocken 3 and 1
Second Flight — Jenni Chun, Lone Tree Lga def. Sheila Schroeder, Broken Tee Englewood Wga 5 and 4
Second Flight Consolation — Elizabeth Kraemer, Legacy Ridge Wga def. Sue Rose Moore, Cherry Hills CC 4 and 3
Third Flight — Vicki Porter, Commonground Lga def Pat O’Connor, Collindale Wga 6 and 5
Third Flight Consolation — Donna Edelen, Riverdale Wga def. Irene Stein, Collindale Wga
Fourth Flight — Amber Leis, Fox Hill CC def. Meadow Hills Wga 2 up
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