Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 29, 1994 TAG: 9406290113
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
On a day when the Salem course's tricky, contoured layout provided too strict a test for most, 50-year-old Fran Hensley of Martinsville ``went to school'' and came home with a field-best score of 5-over-par 77.
"Like many others, I didn't know a whole lot about the course,'' Hensley said. "No doubt, it's a putting game here. There's not a lot of trouble until you get to the greens. Once there, you had to watch one person putt, then watch another, and try to learn all you could about what your putt was going to do. Whoever gets hot with the putter will win this tournament.''
Hensley, coming off her sixth Lynwood Ladies Invitational victory last Sunday, holed enough putts to avoid big numbers and take a one-shot lead in one of the few tournaments she never has won.
"My greatest claim to fame is having Donna Andrews [the current LPGA Tour star from Lynchburg] clean my clock at the State Amateur in 1986,'' Hensley deadpanned. "I'd like to win this tournament. But I never never thought 77 would be leading.''
Three players shot 78s - Salem's Cathi Caldwell, Chris Epperly of Virginia Beach and Lorraine Houlahan of Alexandria.
Defending champion Sherry Zaleski, Salem teen-ager Lee Shirley and Ellen McGowan of Springfield are bunched at 79. McGowan's round was spiced by her first career hole-in-one - at the 103-yard seventh hole.
Caldwell rescued her round, playing the final 11 holes in 2-under. Caldwell, 28, a 12-handicapper at Hidden Valley, had a day's-best four birdies.
Zaleski, 41, was glad to get in at 79, considering she started with five straight bogeys.
"I shot 79 in the first round last year,'' she said. "I just wanted to stay in the 70s today. You can't win a tournament the first day, but you sure can lose one.''
SAND BLASTS: McGowan, who turned in a 1-under 35 on the front nine after her ace, soared to 43 on the back. "I started thinking about my score, and I lost it,'' she said. "The hole-in-one was just dumb luck. I hit it past the pin and it just trickled down into the hole. Nice to get that first one when it means something, though.'' ... Hidden Valley club champion Dot Bolling of Salem struggled to an 80. "I didn't get in bed until midnight, then the phone rang at 6:30 this morning,'' said Bolling, serving as tournament director. "I've never known anyone running a tournament to win it.'' ... Reigning State Amateur champion Anne Patrick, who learned the game at Hidden Valley before moving to Richmond, opened with 81. "Just silly, silly mistakes,'' she groaned. "Muffing chips, missing putts, silly stuff. ... Roanoke's Kathy Dodd (81) finished 6-6-6, costing her five shots to par and the lead. ... Other area notables and their scores included Blacksburg's Juanita Petrone (81), Salem's Penny Stallins (84), Salem's Sara Cole (84), Roanoke's Audrey Najjum (85) and Roanoke's Mar-C Milona (94).
Keywords:
GOLF
by CNB