Home Course Advantage Helps Lawry and Olsen to First-Round Lead at MGA Women's Senior Four-Ball

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By Nick Hunter
nick@mngolf.org
 
 
  FOREST LAKE, Minn. – Playing in familiar surroundings this week at Forest Hills Golf Club, the twosome of Lisa Lawry and Trish Olsen carded three birdies against three bogeys Monday to take a one-stroke lead following the opening round of the 2020 Minnesota Golf Association Women’s Senior Amateur Four-Ball Championship.
 
“It definitely helps because we’ve seen all the shots,” said Lawry, who is playing on her home course with her partner Olsen this week. “We ham and egged pretty well. We were watching the leaderboard and were hopeful because we weren’t playing bad. We just want to play well on our own course.”
 
Olsen, who earned a victory with partner Karen Norton in the First Flight last year at Burl Oaks Golf Club, and Lawry are coming off a sixth and seven-place finish, respectively, at last week’s MGA Women’s Senior Amateur Championship at Woodhill Country Club, in preparation of the twosome’s first championship as a team and on their home soil. Earlier in the month, Olsen defeated Lawry in the club championship.
 
“I think playing at Woodhill last week got us ready because it was long and there are a lot of hills,” Lawry said. “Coming back here, it’s still lengthy and it’s not what we usually play.”
 
Beginning on the 10^th tee Monday, Lawry got her team started by sinking her birdie chance from 20 feet on the opening hole before Olsen put her team to 2-under with a birdie at the 12^th. But three bogeys over their final five holes to close their front nine would put Lawry and Olsen at 1-over for the championship.
 
Olsen began the twosome’s back nine by sticking her approach at the par-5 first inside of 12 feet and rolled in her birdie chance to move back to even par and the two would card consecutive pars for an opening-round 73.
 
“Hopefully we can make some more putts. Today we had some birdie opportunities that we just came up short,” Lawry said ahead of Tuesday’s final round. “I almost chipped in and she almost chipped in, so if we can iron some of those things out and keep hitting it the way we are because we’re both hitting it well.”
 
When the tournament resumes Tuesday, Olsen and Lawry will need to hold off the three-time champion team of Claudia Pilot and Brenda Williams, who fired a first-round 74 to sit one shot back in a tie for second with the team of Betsy Aldrich and Barbara Miller.
 
Pilot and Williams carded an early pair of birdies on their front nine before giving back a stroke at the par-5 14^th hole to turn in 1-under. Pilot dropped her birdie opportunity at the first before a bogey at the third and a late double-bogey at the seventh to finish one shot back at 74.
 
Teaming up for the first time in 2010, Pilot and Williams claimed their first championship at Ridgeview Country Club and added a second title two years later at Red Wing Golf Club. Their most recent victory came at Northland Country Club in 2014.
 
Miller and partner Leigh Klasse fired a final-round 66 a year ago to pull off a come-from-behind victory over Pilot and Williams at Burl Oaks Golf Club, as Miller claimed her first amateur victory in the state.
 
Beginning the opening round on the 10^th tee, Miller sank her birdie putt at the par-4 15^th as she and Aldrich would turn in 1-under before Aldrich dropped her birdie look at the first to move to 2-under. The two would stumble down the stretch, carding three bogeys over the final five holes to finish the first round in a tie for second at 74.
 
Aldrich, the two-time defending MGA Women’s Senior Amateur Match Play champion, who added her third straight title earlier this season, is looking for her first four-ball victory since winning the 2006 MGA Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship with partner Ede Rice at Medina Golf and Country Club.
 
In the First Flight, the team of Kari Haug and Terry Henschel combined to post a 3-over 76 Monday to take a one-stroke lead over the twosome of Molly Baker and Colleen Boerboom. An opening-round 80 gave the pairing of Maren Ogdie and Sue Sajevic a two-shot advantage over Kathy Fisher and Dale Ann Smith in the Second Flight following the opening round of play Monday.
 
Marion Holly and Fran Page opened with a 9-over par 82 in the Third Flight and will begin Tuesday’s final round with a four-stroke lead over the teams of Janice Barstad and Toni Flaherty and Jill Garritsen and Connie Sugden.
 
Renee Christensen and Pat Bush fired a 17-over 90 to take a three-shot lead over the team of Emi Sako and Monica Overcamp in the Fourth Flight, while Terry Fraser and Sheila Mullen carded an opening-round 93 to grab a slim one-shot advantage over the twosome of Janet Christianson and Julie Edwards in the Fifth Flight.
 
The 2020 MGA Women’s Senior Amateur Four-Ball Championship continues Tuesday, with final-round tee times scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m. at Forest Hills Golf Club.