Golf Capital of Tennessee Women's Open Championship
Presented by The City of Crossville
July 22-24. 2010
Stonehenge Golf Club
Fairfield Glade. Tennessee
LEADERBOARD
Danielle Downey wins Tennessee Women's Open 70-70-74 (214)
(left to right) Tournament Chairman-Jean St. Charles, Winner-Danielle Downey, Crossville Mayor-J.H. Graham
Tournament Chairman, Jean St. Charles presents new Champion,
Danielle Downey of Clearwater, Florida with trophy.
Charlie Woll-Board President of Fairfield Glade, Low Amateur-Margaret Shirley, Winner-Danielle Downey, City of Crossville Mayor-J.H. Graham
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 24. 2010
Contact: TGA Office
400 Franklin Road
Franlin, Tennessee
(615) 790-7600
Danielle Downey Captures Title at 2010 Tennessee Women’s Open Championship
Presented by The City of Crossville
FAIRFIELD GLADE, Tenn.—As Danielle Downey walked off the 18th green at Stonehenge Golf Club on Saturday, she thought she’d lost the Tennessee Women’s Open by a shot to amateur Margaret Shirley.
Then she heard something that stunned her. “I heard somebody say, ‘The playoff will begin at No. 1’ ” Downey said. “I thought, ‘What?’ Somebody must have added the scores wrong.”
In the scorer’s tent, Downey, who shot a final-round 74 for a 2-under-par 214 total, learned that no mathematical errors had occurred. And as strange as it seemed, Downey, the second-round leader who trailed by six shots after shooting a front-nine 40, was in a playoff for the championship. Shirley, who was 4-under for the round and 6-under for the tournament after the 10th hole, closed with a 72 for her 214.
Once Downey, who plays on the LPGA Tour, got over her initial shock, she went to work. At No. 1, the first playoff hole, she hit a pitching wedge to two feet. Downey didn’t even need a birdie after Shirley three-putted for bogey, but she drained it anyway.
“Unbelievable,” Downey said. “After the front nine, I just told myself to hang in there for myself, to try and bounce back no matter who won the tournament.”
Shirley, who won the Georgia Open two times as an amateur, seemed determined to add the Tennessee Open to her resume. Starting the day two shots behind Downey at 2-under par, Shirley quickly pulled even at the par-4 No. 1 hole when she made birdie to Downey's bogey. Shirley grabbed the lead and went to 4-under with another birdie at the par-3 third hole, and got to 5 under with a third birdie, this time at the par-3 sixth.
Meanwhile, Downey was going south. After a bogey at No. 4, a double bogey at 6 and a bogey at 7, she stood 1-over, six shots behind Shirley, who finished the front in 33 to Downey's 40.
Shirley kept charging with a birdie at the par-5 10th to get to 6-under, but two holes later, some oil began leaking when she made a bogey at the par-4 12th. That didn’t seem to matter at the time, nor was Shirley too concerned after Downey birdied the tough par-3 14th and went to 1-under par. Shirley was still 5-under at that point.
Shirley drove into the water at the par-5 15th and made bogey, but still seemed in control with a three shot lead with three holes to play.
Downey birdied No. 16 to trim the deficit to two shots, and that’s when the heat turned up on Shirley. Trying to hit a punch shot at No. 17, Shirley left her approach 20 yards short of the green and made her third bogey of the back nine.
Downey probably won the tournament at 17 after her approach landed in the bunker. It was a shot she’d seen in a practice round earlier in the week.
“I knew I couldn’t go right at the hole,” Downey said. So she blasted left and her ball settled 18 feet below the hole. Trusting her newly improved putting stroke, Downey slammed the par put in the cup. But she still trailed Shirley, who was 3-under, by a shot.
At 18, Shirley’s approach found the bunker. She blasted to five feet, but when her putt slid past the hole and Downey made par, it was on to the playoff. Even if Downey wasn’t aware of it.
“I’m proud of the way I hung in there,” Downey said. “After the start I had, to come back and win … this will help my confidence down the road.”
Shirley, the assistant women’s golf coach at Georgia, was tough on herself after losing, but she needn’t have been. Despite not playing much golf since joining the Georgia staff a year ago, she’s had a great month of July, finishing second in the Georgia and Tennessee Opens and qualifying for the U.S. Amateur.
“I pretty much chocked my guts out the last four holes,” Shirley said. “It’s been a while since I’ve been in this position. But give credit to Danielle. She played great to come back and win it.”
Ashli Bunch finished third overall and second among professionals. First-round leader Mallory Blackwelder wound up in seventh place overall and fifth among professionals.
By Chris Dortch
For a complete list of players or to learn more about the
Tennessee Women’s Open Championship
Presented by The City of Crossville
visit www.tnwomensopen.com
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ROUND 3 PAIRINGS
Chairs already lining the 18th green at 6:45 a.m. the morning of the final round
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tennessee Golf Association
400 Franklin Road
Franklin. TN 37069
615.790.7600
Downey Leads Through Round 2
Tennessee Women’s Open Championship Presented by The City of Crossville
FAIRFIELD GLADE, Tenn.—Earlier this month while playing in the Jamie Farr Classic, Danielle Downey was following a pattern that has become all too familiar when she competes on the LPGA Tour.
“I was hitting the ball great,” Downey said, “but couldn’t make a putt.” A couple of Downey’s friends on tour, Diana D’Alessio and Becky Morgan, were sympathetic to her plight, which had led to five missed cuts in as many LPGA events. So they took Downey to the practice green and went to work.
“For an hour and a half, they watched me hit putts,” Downey said. “They said that I hit the ball too well not to be making a living out there. So we made some mechanical changes that were completely opposite of what I had been doing. When you make a change, you don’t want a band-aid. You want to make a complete fix.”
Even though Downey has full status on tour, it’s still hard to get to play every week. So this week she took her refurbished putting stroke to the Tennessee Women’s Open. And if she wins the $5,000.00 first-place check on Saturday, she might want to send a little cut to her buddies Morgan and D’Alessio.
That’s because Downey, after shooting a second consecutive 70 at the Stonehenge Golf Course on Friday, is atop the leaderboard at 4-under par. That total was two shots clear of recently reinstated amateur Margaret Shirley, who matched her opening-round 71. Ashli Bunch turned in the day’s best round, 69, and is at even-par 144. First-round leader Mallory Blackwelder stands at 1-over-par 145 after following her first-round 69 with a 76.
Improved putting has been a key to Downey’s success this week.“Today I hit a lot of good putts,” Downey said. “My speed was good, and the ball felt solid coming off the putter.” Being confident with the flat stick can cure a lot of ills. Downey made three bogeys on the back nine, where she started Friday’s round, but she also rolled in three birdie putts to keep her at even par for the day.
On the front side, Downey made two more birdies, at No. 2 and No. 4, then parred out and turned in another 70. Regardless of whether she wins this tournament, the confidence she’s gained through the first two rounds will stay with her a while.
“It’s not fun not playing in tournaments in the summer, just sitting at home chipping and putting,” Downey said. “That’s what you should do in the winter. I just want to play golf. So whether it’s the U.S. Open or the Tennessee Open, I want to be playing for scores. [Putting well] this week in competition is definitely a confidence builder.”
Downey earned her LPGA card through Q School in 2007, and in 2008 put together her best season, finishing 89th on the money list with $117,312. A hand injury derailed her in 2009, but this season she’s allowed to compete in as many tournaments (nine) as she missed a year ago. With only four tournaments left, she knows she has to get busy.
“I enjoy playing on the LPGA Tour, but it’s a bit different than the men’s game from a financial aspect,” Downey said. “Most of the girls don’t have financial backing. I happen to be one of them who does, but it’s hard not to put pressure on yourself when you know you have a mortgage and a car payment.”
Shirley played at Auburn, but these days she’s an assistant coach at Georgia. The offer of that job a year ago forced her to reevaluate her priorities, so after nine months of life as a touring pro, she took the sure thing and reapplied for her amateur status.
Shirley was reinstated on July 18, and a day later she qualified for the U.S. Amateur. Together with her second-place finish in the Georgia Open earlier this month and her two under-par rounds this week, Shirley has played some of the best golf of her life. The funny thing about that is she hardly ever gets to play or practice anymore.
“Coaching’s a full-time job, and then some,” Shirley said. “I can’t tell you the last time I played [a casual round] or just went out and chipped and putted.”
Having low expectations, Shirley says, has fueled her recent play. “I’m just going out there and having fun,” she said. “No pressure, no worries about money. I just play golf.”
That newfound freedom paid dividends on Friday. Shirley started at No 10 and turned at 1-over-par 37 but wasn’t too worried about it. She then cranked out birdies at No. 3, 4 and 7 on the front. Shirley bogeyed No. 9, but still finds herself in position to win her second state open of the month.”
“I’ve matured a lot,” Shirley said. “I learned a lot in college golf and the short time I was a pro. It’s definitely something I can pass on to our players at Georgia.”
-Chris Dortch
Round 2
Round 2 pairings will not be affected by delay
CLICK
for ROUND 2 PAIRINGS
The field will be cut to the low 60 scorers and ties after Round 2 (36 holes)
Round 1
*afternoon rain delay
Round 1 will resume Friday. July 23
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tennessee Golf Association
400 Franklin Road
Franklin, TN 37069
July 22. 2010
Mallory Blackwelder’s golf game must travel well.
FAIRFIELD GLADE, Tenn.— One day after winning the Kentucky State Open, Blackwelder, the former University of Kentucky golfer in her first season as a professional, found herself atop the leaderboard of another state open. Blackwelder’s 3-under-par 69 at Stonehenge Golf Club gave her a one-shot advantage over Emma Jandel and Danielle Downey and two over Margaret Shirley and Brittany Johnston.
“I really didn’t know quite what to expect today,” Blackwelder said. “I was pretty tired. But I’m happy with the way it turned out.”
Blackwelder obviously carried some momentum with her from Kentucky. Without benefit of a practice round at the tricky Stonehenge course, she shot 3-under par 33 on the front nine, closing with a pair of birdies after draining a 25-foot birdie putt at the par-5 8th and a 30-footer from just off the green at the par-4 9th.
Blackwelder started the back nine with birdies at No. 10 and 11 before she made her first mistake of the day, missing the par-4 12th green to the left, a position from which she had to settle for a bogey.
“I was five under,” Blackwelder said. “My low score of my career is 66. I got a little greedy there, trying to go for that pin, but I put a bad swing on it.”
Blackwelder made pars until No. 16 and 17, where she made consecutive bogeys, but she closed with a birdie at the par-4 18th after knocking her approach to three feet. That enabled her to take the lead over Jandel and Downey.
Blackwelder’s rookie season as a pro has been an odyssey that has taken her to the Ladies European Tour, the Futures Tour, three state opens and one LPGA event. If she had it to do over, she’d have settled on the LET so her travel would have been reduced.
Blackwelder had no choice but to become a touring pro. Her mother Myra was the LPGA’s Rookie of the Year in 1980 and her father Worth has caddied on the LPGA Tour for Dottie Pepper, Cristie Kerr, Natalie Gulbis and Juli Inkster.
Thursday’s play was interrupted by a two-hour and 45-minute rain delay. The last six groups were unable to finish and will resume play Friday morning .
-Chris Dortch
For complete Tennessee Women’s Open information visit www.tnwomensopen.com or call The Tennessee Golf Association, 615.790.7600.
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