2008 Senior Women’s Championship

Darlene Werhnyak Wins GSGA Senior Women's Championship in Playoff

ELBERTON, Ga. – Lawrenceville's Darlene Werhnyak connected on a six-foot putt on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to capture the 11th annual GSGA Senior Women's Championship, which was held at Arrowhead Pointe at Richard B. Russell State Park in Elberton, August 19-20. Mary Riley of Perry carded a bogey on the playoff hole to finish as the Championship's runner-up. Marietta's Brenda Pictor, the defending champion and first-round leader, posted an 80 on the final day of competition to fall into a tie for third place with Claudeen Lindberg of Atlanta.

Phyllis Foisy of Statham fired the low round of the championship, 74, on the final day to finish tied for fifth overall with Nary Helen McElreath of Augusta. Carolyn Hooks of Augusta, winner of the first flight, totaled 160 for the championship and took a seventh place overall. Two-time past champion Ginette Spinucci of Stone Mountain carded rounds of 80 and 81 to finish alone in eighth position. Rebecca Rocker of Eatonton finished at 162, good for ninth. Three players tied for tenth place at 163. They were Greensboro's Ena Harvey, Liz Butler of Coumbus and third flight winner Helen Kirbo of Albany.

Werhnyak began the final round two strokes off the lead but played steady golf on the outward nine posting a birdie at par-5 fifth hole and just two bogeys to make the turn at one-over par. Carding just a single bogey, at No. 14, over her next seven holes, Werhnyak ran into major troubled when she pulled her second shot left and into the hazard on the 17th hole.

"When I hit that ball into the hazard," Werhnyak explained, "I thought that I had shot myself right out of contention. I knew that some of the other players were playing well enough to win so I just tried to finish strong."

A final par on the 349-yard, par-4 18th hole, gave Werhnyak a 40 for her back nine and a 77 for the final round.

Riley started her day with a double-bogey on the 470-yar, par-5 first but answered with a birdie on the par-3 third hole. Riley went on to make the turn at two-over par. Following a birdie at No. 11, Riley posted a double-bogey and a bogey on 12 and 13. She would then go on to make her fourth birdie of the day on the 304-yard 14th but made bogeys on 15 and 17 on her way to posting 77 and forcing the playoff with Werhnyak.

Other flight winners include: Betsy Butler of Atlanta and Eleanor Kirkland of Stockbridge (170) in the second flight, Jan Cross of Evans carded 170 in the fourth flight, Beaty Maffet and Suzn Stewart, both of Atlanta, in flight five with a 179, Midland's Patty Hudspeth took flight six with a 171, Roswell's Julie Rayburn, Mal Elder of Athens and Nancy Tesinski of Savannah (185) tied for overall honors in the seventh flight, in the eighth at 182 is Julie Hebert of Marietta, Janet Richards of Kathleen took honors in the ninth flight with a 197, the tenth flight went to Brenda Evans of Fort Valley and Atlanta's Nancy Huff who tied with a 201 and Jean Glover of Gray topped the eleventh flight with a two-day total of 226.

The championship through fifth flights played the course as a par-72 and to approximately 5,689 yards and were eligible for the overall title. The third through eleventh flights played the course at approximately 5,367 yards.

Entries were open to female amateur golfers who are GSGA members, Georgia residents, and age 50 and above as of August 19. The field of 135 was divided into flights based on handicap index.

Founded in 1916, the Georgia State Golf Association (GSGA) received its official charter on June 24, 1924. Since that date, the GSGA has grown to one of the largest state amateur golf associations in the country, with over 365 member clubs and 85,000 individual members. With a mission to promote and preserve amateur golf in the state of Georgia, GSGA offers a computerized handicapping service, course rating and measuring, and annually conducts a full schedule of statewide competitions for men and women of all age groups. Other services include a summer-long junior sectional program, award-winning Golf Georgia magazine, membership recognition and rewards programs and a charitable foundation administering two college scholarship programs.

Final Results

Championship Flight
T1 Darlene Werhnyak, Lawrenceville 79 77 156
T1 Mary Riley, Perry 79 77 156
T3 Brenda Pictor, Marietta 77 80 157
T3 Claudeen Lindberg, Atlanta 80 77 157
T5 Mary Helen McElreath, Augusta 82 76 158
T5 Phyllis Foisy, Statham 84 74 158
7 Rebecca Rocker, Eatonton 81 81 162
8 Liz Butler, Columbus 79 84 163
9 Cheryl Grigg, Sea Island 85 80 165
T10 Ena Harvey, Greensboro 83 83 166
T10 Maria Johnson, Jesup 83 83 166
12 Rochelle Weaver, Resaca 88 95 183