Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 1, 1994 TAG: 9407010074
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Although she won't turn 18 until July 14 and is scheduled to play in one more junior golf tournament, Lee Shirley officially took her game to the next level Thursday.
Shirley, a recent graduate of the North Cross School, made a seven-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to win the Virginias' Women's Stroke Play Championship at Hidden Valley Country Club.
Shirley hesitated to rank the victory among her previous golf accomplishments, which include three consecutive State Junior titles, but it was her first victory in a statewide women's event.
``I played with the guys in high school,'' said Shirley, who will attend the University of North Carolina on a golf scholarship. ``I'm used to playing with men, women, everybody. The other players made me feel very comfortable this week.''
Shirley finished with a round of 2-over-par 74 and a 54-hole total of 230. Shelley Savage, leader by two shots going into the final round, was at 231 following a final-round 77.
Savage, a former Michigan resident now living in Manassas, hit her approach shot to the left of the 18th green and saved par with a delicate chip and 10-foot putt.
``I knew my putt was for the win,'' said Shirley, who viewed the closing holes almost like match play. ``I put a good stroke on it, but I wasn't sure it was in. I was praying.''
The other members of the final foursome, Fran Hensley and Ellen McGowan, had dropped out of contention earlier on the back nine. Defending champion Sherry Zaleski of Manassas finished third at 232, and Dot Bolling of the host club was fourth at 234 - both after 75s.
The low round of the day was shared by Shirley and Roanoke's Kathy Dodd, who cut her score 12 shots after a second-round 86.
Shirley plays out of Hunting Hills Country Club on the south side of Roanoke, but lives in Salem - no more than a mile from Hidden Valley.
``I wouldn't say I play here a lot,'' she said, ``but I was more familiar with the course than most of the players in the field. I wasn't really thinking about winning the tournament [at the start of the week]. I thought top five or top 10 would have been realistic.''
Shirley needed 38 putts in each of her first two rounds at Hidden Valley, known for the slickest greens in the area, but she cut that to 29 on Thursday.
``It was a good thing, too,'' she said. ``I was all over the course.''
On the ninth hole, Shirley hit her drive into the practice range. She could not hit the green with her second shot and needed a 10-foot putt for a bogey-5.
``I definitely felt good about that,'' she said. ``It was a hard-earned [74]. My putting hurt me the first day. Today, I couldn't hit a green for my life. I'd rather hit the ball well, given a choice.''
Shirley, trailing by three shots when play began Thursday, bogeyed the first hole but gained a shot when Savage made double bogey. They traded the lead on several occasions before Savage pulled even following a Shirley bogey at No.17.
``I'm pretty disappointed because this is the fourth time in the last year that I've finished second,'' said Savage, beaten on the 19th hole in a tournament last week in Michigan. ``Lee made some key putts; once I saw how close she hit it at [No.] 18, I felt sure she'd make it.''
by CNB