HINGHAM, Massachusetts – Lisa Heaps (Hyannisport Club) and Kathy Brown (Cape Cod National Golf Club) took the early lead at the Curtis Bowl Scotch Tournament and couldn’t be caught as they won the second Mass Golf Women’s Tournament of the year with a score of 4-over-par 76 Tuesday at South Shore Country Club.
The 18-hole, shotgun-start tournament used the Scotch format, in which one partner plays first from the teeing area of all odd-numbered holes and the other plays first from the teeing area of even-numbered holes. Afterward, partners alternate shots for the remainder of each hole. The tournament was open to female golfers with a Handicap Index® up to 54.0.
Heaps and Brown are no strangers to this tournament. This marks their fourth time competing for the Curtis Bowl. They proved that the fourth time was the charm for them this year. Heaps, who won the Cris Eaton Chapman with Katie McNamara (Charles River Country Club) last month, stated that each year they play in it, they get a little bit better.
“The good thing about our play today was that we never really got into trouble,” said Heaps. “Kathy was really straight and long off the tee then we managed to do a good job with the putting.”
Brown gave her thoughts on the course and how it played out today.
“I thought the course was beautiful and it had its own set of challenges,” said Brown. “It had a lot of elevated greens, you really had to manage the course. Without managing it, it was a bit more difficult to play.”
Last year, Heaps and Brown placed 4th and were paired with the winning duo made up of Cathy Flatley and Frances Rush.
Brown’s favorite part of the day was learning how to hit from different spots of the course that you might not have ever played before with people that you may or may not have played with.
“I really enjoy listening to my partner (Heaps) and getting her viewpoints on distances to hit, reading putts, and which way you think they’re going to break,” said Brown. “It provides a great learning tool for going forward in play.”
Pine Brook Country Club duo Amy Sucoff & Jill Busny tied for second place with Elizabeth Derwin (The Tour) & Gina Gallagher (Marlborough Country Club) with scores of 6-over-par 78.
Segregansett Country Club duo Marty Fox and Mary Barry earned Low Net honors at 3-under-par 69.
“Our game today was very consistent, we were able to hit almost every fairway and the greens in regulation,” said Fox. “The course was in great shape and the greens were really fair as long as you stayed in the fairway. We didn’t get into any bunkers so it worked very well.”
She then described her thoughts on the day and her competition.
“My favorite part of the day was playing with my partner Mary, and our playing partners (Meredith Dunn and Diane Ducie),” mentioned Fox. We were paired with two people that were actually equal to us, so we both played very similarly, it was just a lot of fun! Mary has been one of my playing partners for the last couple of years. We play a similar game and we kept each other composed.”
Brown had very similar thoughts to her partner.
“The course was in great condition and we had great partners to play with,” said Barry. “We are really excited that we won [low net honors] and could not thank Mass Golf enough for such an amazing day!”
The tournament was established in 1954 in honor of Harriot and Margaret Curtis by their friends who were also members of the Women’s Golf Association of Massachusetts.
The Curtis sisters were active golfers in the United States, where they combined to win four U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship titles. Their play overseas in Great Britain inspired them to establish the Curtis Cup Match, a biennial match between women golfers from the two countries, to help foster international friendships in women’s golf.
The Curtis Bowl trophy is a replica of the Curtis Cup trophy that the sisters donated for the championship. The Curtis Bowl was first contested in 1956 and has been held every year since. Several pairs have won multiple titles at the tournament, most recently Betsy Masse and Teresa Burtoft in 2016 and 2017.
Mass Golf hosts several Women’s Tournaments not only during the summer season, but also throughout the spring and fall.
The Women’s Fall Cup Matches begin Thursday, September 7. The statewide tournament consists of three matches played in September between Member Club teams. The Fall Cup Championship will then take place on October 17 at Shaker Hills Country Club in Harvard.
Mass Golf is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that is dedicated to advancing golf in Massachusetts by building an engaged community around the sport.
With a community made up of over 100,000 golf enthusiasts and over 360 member clubs, Mass Golf is one of the largest state golf associations in the country. Members enjoy the benefits of handicapping, engaging golf content, course rating and scoring services along with the opportunity to compete in an array of events for golfers of all ages and abilities.
At the forefront of junior development, Mass Golf is proud to offer programming to youth in the state through First Tee Massachusetts and subsidized rounds of golf by way of Youth on Course.
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