On some of the major professional golf tours, they have a “bounce back” statistic that measures a player’s ability to quickly rebound from a bad hole — or couple of holes — with a good one.
Deb Hughes of Denver and Kelly Martin of Evergreen came up big in that statistic at the end of their round on Sunday, which is why they earned the title at the CWGA Dunham Chapman Championship at Raven Golf Club at Three Peaks in Silverthorne.
Hughes played the wrong ball on her 16th hole of the final round and she and Martin subsequently made a double bogey after a two-stroke penalty. Then they bogeyed their 17th hole.
But they managed to gather themselves to make a birdie from 4 inches on their final hole of the day and win the championship by one stroke on Sunday. Hughes and Martin barely fended off playing partners Kathy Malpass and Bev Hoffenberg, who likewise finished with a birdie — from 3 feet.
Ironically, it was Malpass who helped match up Martin and Hughes for the Dunham Chapman. Hughes was signed up for the event with a different partner, but that player had to withdraw just three days before the championship. Hughes called the CWGA to pull out, but the association quickly arranged for a new partner. Malpass, vice president on the CWGA board of directors, made a call on Wednesday to fellow Evergreen resident Martin, who was happy to fill in.
“I didn’t know Kelly,” Hughes said on Sunday. “They found me Kelly to play with — and sure enough we end up winning the tournament.”
Said Martin: “It was nice of Kathy to ask me. I felt very privileged. I had no idea who I’d be playing with or anything. But I feel like I got lucky with a good partner obviously.”
Hughes, winner of the 2016 CWGA Senior Stroke Play and the 2014 Senior Match Play, and Martin teamed up to shoot the low of the championship on Sunday — a 1-over-par 73, despite the two-stroke penalty — to improve their score by eight strokes compared to Saturday. That left them with a 10-over-par 154 winning total. (The champions are pictured, with Hughes at left.)
Malpass, who recently competed in the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, and Hoffenberg closed with a 76 on Sunday to check in at 155.
Tying for third at 158 were first-round co-leaders Kim Gould and Meagan Arvidson, along with Denise Cohen and Ron Irons. Cohen and Irons carded a 75 in round 2, while Gould and Arvidson had an 80.
The Dunham Chapman format features two-person teams, with each golfer hitting tee shots, then playing her partner’s ball for the second shot. After that, a scoring ball is chosen, and that ball is played alternately into the hole.
That was the issue with the penalty Hughes and Martin incurred on their 16th hole — the 17th at Raven as they began on No. 2 for the shotgun start. With Hughes supposed to hit Martin’s ball in the alternate-shot, after asking her partner if a ball down the fairway was hers and Martin saying yes, Hughes didn’t double check before striking the shot. It turns out it was Malpass’ ball. With the two-stroke penalty, Martin had to sink a 6-foot putt for double bogey.
And even after following that up with a bogey on their 17th hole, Martin and Hughes wouldn’t be denied.
“After the penalty, then we had a bogey, we had a hole left,” Martin said. “I said, ‘Let’s just birdie this last one.’ It was fun. We did.
“That (last hole) was probably the first time in two days that Deb hit a terrible tee shot. She popped it up. I thought, ‘OK, no big deal.’ It was about 225 yards in and I hit a 3-wood. My (tee) shot was up there and I knew she’d hit her (approach) shot close to the pin. So I thought, ‘She’ll be fine, I’ll just go ahead and go for it.’ I liked the line and it rolled right up next to the pin. It was very comforting that we had a tap-in birdie at the end.”
Hughes and Martin trailed by three going into the final round, but posted three birdies, two bogeys and the double bogey on Sunday to rally for the victory.
“It was a fantastic day,” Hughes said. “We were so discouraged after our performance the first day, finishing with an 81. But we were determined. The second day we were both pretty much ready to go, so it really clicked well.
“This feels fantastic because I’d never won a team event until now. I’ve always felt it’s just not complete. Now I’ve won one and can check that off my bucket list I guess.”
While Sunday’s win was Hughes’ third in CWGA championships, it was the first for Martin, the women’s club champion at Fox Hollow the last two years.
This year marked a return of the Dunham Chapman after a one-year hiatus. The championship was recently renamed to pay tribute to Jo Ann Dunham, a longtime CWGA volunteer whose came up with the idea for the Chapman. Dunham passed away last September.
In all, 61 teams competed in the Dunham Chapman — in seven different flights.
Here are the gross-score winners of the various flights on Sunday:
Championship Flight — Deb Hughes/Kelly Martin 81-73–154
First Flight — Maria Tafuri/Heidi Horner 81-82–163
Second Flight — Diane Thompson/Regina Valis 86-81–167
Third Flight — Debbie Childs/Janine Lowe 89-83–172
Fourth Flight — Peggy Chandler/Wendy Markley 86-91–177
Fifth Flight — Katherine Rojas/Mary Jo Turner 89-102–191
Sixth Flight — Barbara Bender/Mary Graff 98-98–196
Here are the net-score winners from each flight:
Championship Flight — Kim Gould/Meagan Arvidson 66-68–134
First Flight — Maria Tafuri/Heidi Horner 67-68–135
Second Flight — Diane Thompson/Regina Valis 71-66–137
Third Flight — Ellen Thomas/Anne Mursch 74-61–135
Fourth Flight — Peggy Chandler/Wendy Markley 64-69–133
Fifth Flight — (tie) Katherine Rojas/Mary Jo Turner 66-79–145; Candy Gerlach/Lucille Larson 77-68–145
Sixth Flight — Barbara Bender/Mary Graff 71-71–142
For complete results, CLICK HERE.
