Pam Prescott (Carolina's Golf Association Photo)
Pam Prescott of Piedmont, S.C. took home the hardware at the 25th Carolinas Senior Women’s Amateur Championship at The Patriot at Grand Harbor in Ninety-Six, S.C. Prescott recorded rounds of 76-73 to finish at a two-day total of 5-over.
Prescott carded two birdies during Round One, helping her up the leaderboard and giving her a shot at the title heading into the Final Round on Thursday.
“Yesterday I had two doubles which were just stupid mistakes, and today I actually had a double on the same hole I did yesterday, number three, which is the hardest hole out here, I think,” Prescott noted. “But I putted really well today, I hit the ball better today. I hit my irons really well. I had a few holes that were iffy, but for the most part, when I had a birdie putt, I gave it a chance to go in the hole. And two of them went in so that basically erased the double.”
The final group on Thursday made the golf fun to watch and the leaderboard exciting to follow as Prescott, Lea Venable of Simpsonville, S.C., Defending Champ Kathy Hartwiger of Pinehurst, N.C., and Hui Chong Dofflemyer of Pikeville, N.C. all battled for the title.
Prescott dropped three birdies during the Final Round, including a birdie on the par 5 hole 13, giving her a boost as she headed into the last few holes.
“I was just trying to stay calm, even keel, and not get ahead of myself,” Prescott explained as she talked about her mindset in the Final Round. “I just was steady throughout the day. I never looked at the scoreboard because that always throws me for a loop.”
Regarding how she kept her composure and focus to finish strong, Prescott said “I’ll be honest, I looked early because I was two or three down on the leaderboard, but I said to myself, ‘Stop that, and play golf. Don’t worry about the scores. Don’t think about the results, just play the game. If it happens, it happens and if it doesn’t, it doesn’t.’”
Prescott won this championship in 2020 and brought home the win again in 2023. “Winning any CGA event is huge to me,” Prescott shared. “I went to the USGA Open and the USGA Amateur. Those are high-level tournaments, so if you can play in these tournaments and win and keep your composure, that is going to help me in those tournaments too. Winning these events is huge to me.”
Venable and Hartwiger finished T2, both shooting rounds of 74-77 for a two-day total of 7-over.
SUPER SENIOR DIVISION
Held concurrently with the 25th Carolinas Senior Women’s Amateur Championship was the Inaugural Carolinas Super Senior Women’s Amateur Championship! Congratulations to Patty Moore of Pinehurst, N.C. on being crowned the first-ever champion. Moore shot 76-82 for a total of 14-over.
“Honestly, I struggled off the tee, but I held it together. My short game really helped me out. My chipping and putting is what really helped me this week,” Moore explained in regards to what she did well this week.
Moore had the lead at 4-over heading into the Final Round, giving her confidence to help her through some nerves on Thursday.
“I felt a little more pressure today than I normally do in these events,” Moore shared. “Probably because it was the inaugural, and because I did win the North Carolina Super Senior this year for the first year, so I think I was just stressing too much thinking about trying to bring home the win instead of just playing good golf and staying focused.”
Moore recorded two birdies throughout the week, including on the 17th hole of the Final Round, finishing strong to take home another win.
How does it feel to be the inaugural champion? Moore said, “I’m honored. I’m glad that Maggie and the CGA started tournaments for the Super Seniors. Instead of just having them as a division, having them as standalone championships, I think that was a good move, and I am very honored."
This is Moore’s 25th CGA win, making her no stranger to what it feels like to be a CGA Champion. She even won the Inaugural North Carolina Super Senior Women’s Amateur earlier this year in May. But when asked what this win means to her, Moore said, “Well, everyone is special. As you get older, you treasure them even more. Every win is special, and I think that the more time that goes by, the worth becomes even more so than when I was younger.”
Moore jokes, “In a couple of years, I’ll have to try to get a Super Duper Seniors started.”
Nancy Dodge of Gilbert, S.C. finished in second place with a two-day total of 18-over. Robin Gallagher of Hillsborough, N.C. and Lizbeth Yacovone of Travelers Rest, S.C. both finished tied for third at 19-over.
ABOUT THE
Carolinas Women's Senior
The championship is contested at 36 holes of stroke
play with a Championship
Division and Carolinas Division (shorter course).
Entry is open to any female amateur golfer who has
reached her
50th birthday, is a legal resident of North Carolina or
South Carolina
or meets the non-resident criteria as outlined in the
CGA Tournament Manual,
is a member in good standing of a club which is a
member of the Carolinas
Golf Association (CGA) and has an active GHIN®
USGA Handicap Index® at a
CGA member club.
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