By Paul Kenyon

 

PORTSMOUTH _ The 100th Rhode Island Golf Association Amateur Championship turned out to be an emotional one for Lisa McGill. And a highly successful one, as well.

          The Misquamicut star almost did not compete. As it was, she was among the last to enter. But once play began at the Carnegie Abbey Club, she became the story. She earned medalist honors on Monday, then swept through match play, capped by holding off Alpine’s Daria Delfino, 1 up, in an excellent title match on a beautiful Friday morning at the club along the bay.

          ``It’s so exciting, the 100th,’’ McGill said as she accepted congratulations. But more than what the week meant for the association, she spoke about how much the title _ her fourth in the event _ means to her. McGill had spoken at the start of the week about how personal matters almost kept her out of the tournament.

          ``I dedicate this to my dad, Peter B. Griffin. He’s not with us,’’ McGill said. He died just before Christmas. McGill thought of him during the match.

         ``Today I was like, `Come on, I need a little help,’ ’’ she said.

         As if that was not enough, McGill’s two college-aged daughters, Sydney and Annie, took in the match.

         ``It was nice. I just couldn’t talk to them. They’ve never watched me in competition,’’ McGill said. ``I couldn’t be happier.’’

          Delfino, the former Bay View All-Stater who is having an excellent college career at Loyola of New Orleans, where she will be a senior this year, made McGill earn the title. The two were never more than one hole apart. Thirteen of the 18 hole were halved, most with pars.

          The first four holes were halved before McGill three-putted the par-3 fifth allowing Delfino to take the lead. McGill pulled back even when she birdied the eighth and took the lead for the first time when she rolled in a 12-footer for another bird on 10. Delfino, who now has lost to the eventual champion three years in a row, pulled back even with a 10-foot birdie putt on 13.  The two matched pars until the decisive swing on 16.

     On that 350-yard par four, Delfino drove into the right rough and had an uneven lie on one of the banks that guard the fairway. McGill drove down the middle then ripped her five-hybrid to within four feet, right below the hole. Delfino’s second shot from the difficult lie ballooned up in the air and landed on the bank of a bunker that guards the front right of the green.

       As she approached, she saw an impossible situation. Her ball had wedged into the grass face of the bunker, one of many bunkers at Carnegie with European style grass faces. It was waist high and literally wedged into the bank. Delfino spent a couple minutes trying to figure out what she possibly could do, then called over RIGA director Bob Ward, the referee for the match.

        ``I have to take an unplayable,’’ she told Ward.

         Ward gave her three options on what she could do and Delfino decided to go back 20 yards, keeping on the same line, and chip from there. She pitched 20 feet past the hole and when she missed her par putt conceded McGill’s birdie, putting McGill back on top.

       Both parred in from there, making McGill the champion just as she was in 1995, 2005 and 2015.

       When it was over, there was one more pleasant development for McGill. Ward announced that the RIGA next month will annnounce a new Hall of Fame class, as it does every three years. Ward reported that before play began, Hall of Famer Nancy Chaffee., now a member of the selection committee, was directed to notify McGill that she was to be enshrined in the Hall in December.

         In the first division, Carnegie Abbey’s Cyndy Bersani jumped to a quick early lead and beat newcomer Mary-Kate O’Leary of Triggs, 6 and 4.

PORTSMOUTH - It is not often when a golf tournament becomes memorable even before the first shot is struck, but it happened Monday at Carnegie Abbey for the RIGA Women’s Amateur Championship.
              Association officials held a small but special party noting the fact that this is the 100th women’s state championship in Rhode Island.
           Ten former champions returned to take part, led by Hall of Famer Nancy Chaffee, who has won a championship in six decades, including the Junior, the Amateur and the Senior Amateur. Chaffee was the honorary starter, striking the first tee shot to begin the week.
        When players arrived, they were greeted by the RIGA’s new video boards. Instead of showing scores, as they will do most of the time, they watched a montage of pictures of former champions. At the Lookout, once the pro shop home at Carnegie Abbey, there was another collage of pictures of former champions that brought back great memories for those who have been involved in Rhode Island golf and know of the tremendous success women players have had, not just locally, not nationally as well.
        There was a picture of the great Glenna Collett Vare, the World Golf Hall of Famer, accepting the trophy, filled with roses, for winning the 1957 RIWGA championship. There was a picture of a slim and young looking JoAnne Gunderson Carner blasting out of a bunker and another of a smiling Julie Greene, who holds all the records with 11 state Amateur championships. In addition to the past champs, a number of former RIWGA presidents took part as well.
        The first women’s tournament was held in 1916, but no event was held for two years during World War II. The display Monday showed how dramatically times have changed. Many of the displays cut out from newspapers listed the players using their husband’s first name. That was at the request of the RIWGA, which wanted the women listed that way. Obviously, times have changed since those days, as recently as 40 years ago.
          ``It was a lot of work,’’ said Katie DeCosta, the director of women’s golf for the RIGA, for putting together the special celebration. ``Michaela (McNamara, the RIGA’s intern) did most of it.’’
     ``It was great,’’ said Kay Bullock, who shot 86 and easily qualified for the championship division.
          ``I’m delighted to be here, just for what they did this morning,’’ said Lisa McGill. As a three-time champion, she was part of the pre-game ceremonies. Then she went out and recorded a 75 to earn medalist honors.
         McGill, who is from Philadelphia but spends her summers in Misquamicut and has been playing in the Amateur for more than 20 years. She had some personal matters she had to take care of and has not been playing much golf recently, but is happy to be back competing again. She had three birdies on the way to her 75.
        Another of the players who spent time looking over the display of past champions was Daria Delfino, who appears to be in position to add her name to the champions list.
        Defino, who just finished a strong junior year playing for Loyola of New Orleans, recorded a 77 to earn medalist honors. Delfino, who has lost to the eventual champion each of the last two years, to Susie Cavanagh in the title match two years ago and Addy Douglas last year, had never seen the course before Monday.
       ``I like it. It’s impressive,’’ she said.   She was not happy about making two double bogeys but otherwise played well.
          ``It’s my favorite tournament of the summer,’’ Delfino said. ``I’m hoping the third time will be the charm.’’