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The duo of Kim Titus of Fox Island, Wash. and Kelly Gardner of Gig Harbor, Wash. combined on a 1-under par 70 in today’s final round, and then made a par on the first playoff hole, to complete their comeback in winning the 18th Washington State Women’s Best-Ball Championship.
The two-day championship was held May 1-2 at Leavenworth (Wash.) Golf Course and conducted by the Washington State Golf Association (WSGA). Follow the conversation on Twitter at the handles @TheWSGA and @WSGAChampions for other news and use the hashtag #WSGAWomensBestBall. Click here for final results, including hole-by-hole scores, and other information about the championship, including past champions.
Titus and Gardner began the final round three shots behind first-round leaders Karen Madison of East Wenatchee and Patty Myers of Olympia, and also had three other teams between them and the leaders. Titus and Gardner then shot the only under-par round of the championship, overtaking three teams and finishing the day tied with Madison and Myers, who had shot rounds of 71-73. Titus and Gardner then won the championship on the first playoff hole.
Titus and Gardner have played together in several team events, having won this championship in 2014, and having also qualified for the 2015 U.S. Women’s Four-Ball Championship. In last year’s championship, the duo had signed an incorrect scorecard after the second round and were disqualified, so this year’s title is especially sweet for them.
“It was a real rollercoaster for us,” said Gardner. “We’d be going along really well, and then we’d hit a disaster. Yesterday we took a triple-bogey on our second hole, and the last hole today we took a double. We really didn’t have an idea where we stood (during today’s round). When we started today, we were thinking we would maybe need to shoot 68 or so. When we shot that double-bogey on the last hole we thought we lost it for sure.”
Madison and Myers won the championship’s net competition, with a two-round total of 11-under. Madison was named the 2015 WSGA Senior Women’s Player of the Year, and won the 2016 WSGA Super Senior Women’s Amateur.
The format for the WSGA Women’s Best-Ball was 36-hole Four-Ball stroke play (gross and net).
Founded in 1922, the WSGA is a 501c4 non-profit, amateur golf association governed by men and women volunteers. Serving over 68,000 individual members at more than 550 member golf clubs and 270 golf courses throughout the state of Washington and Northern Idaho, the WSGA works to continually expand the game of golf to people of all backgrounds.
The WSGA also serves as a statewide representative of the United States Golf Association (USGA) and works closely with a number of allied associations within the golf industry for the betterment of the game.