Fort Qu’Appelle’s Sandra Williams and Lebret’s Kathi McDougall – both members at Katepwa Beach Golf Club – ended up carding a 28-under-par 118 through the two-day event, opening with a 15-under 58 on Wednesday before carding a 13-under 60 in windy conditions Thursday to claim their first Rosebowl title.
“We had no expectations whatsoever, it was our first time, there were 12 of us from Katepwa and they convinced us to come out and play,” Williams said of the win. “They’ve been after us for awhile to come out so we thought we’d give it a try and have fun.
“The course is really nice, and it was windy, it started out cold in the morning but turned into a really comfortable day. It was nice tournament,” McDougall added. “Katepwa is hosting it next year, too, so I thought it would be a good thing to at least experience it before we actually played in it on our own course.”
The tournament format uses a two-ball better-ball format that includes handicaps in scoring. Both McDougall and Williams carried a handicap in the 23 range heading into the event, but through each day reeled off enough solid shots to drive their score into PGA-record territory.
As an example, their opening round included 10 birdies and three eagles. In fact, had it not been for a double bogey on 15, their score could have fallen into the mid-50s.
Not bad for a couple of rookies.
“It’s the first time we used our handicaps and it’s a great format,” Williams said. “It’s a lot of fun playing as team, it takes some pressure off you if you have a bad shot.”
Cheryl Lawrence and Linda Sokul of Wynyard were tied for the opening-day lead but a second-round 63 saw them finish three shots back at -25. Clubmates Marie Wachno and Sheila Popowich were third, following an opening-round 62 with a bogey-free 60 on Thursday that included three eagles and a ‘hole-in-one’ on the par-four third hole.
The Lynbrook team of Sharon Knittel and Deb Higgins had the top Moose Jaw finish, shooting back-to-back rounds of 32 to finish 12th overall.
