Elise Fennell and Jessica Jolly, Joan Garety and Terry Delcamp Win 14th GAM Women’s Four-Ball Titles
GRAND RAPIDS – Elise Fennell of Caledonia and Jessica Jolly of Rockford birdied the first hole of sudden-death to win the Overall Division, and Joan Garety of Ada and Terry Delcamp, formerly of Grand Blanc, won an unprecedented eighth Senior Division title in the 14th GAM Women’s Four Ball Championship presented by Saint John’s Resort at Boulder Creek Golf Club Monday.
Fennell and Jolly, who will be freshman golf teammates at Illinois State University this fall, shot a final-round 5-under 67 to land at 8-under, and were tied with the 66-shooting tandem of Grand Valley State University golfer Rachael Krieger of Commerce Township and Brooke Morris of Canton, who will be a freshman golfer at Central Michigan University.
In the resulting playoff Fennell hit a wedge shot to 12-feet and made the putt for the sudden-death win.
Meanwhile, Garety and Delcamp shot a second consecutive 67 to finish at 10-under 134, four shots clear of Lori Schlicher of Lewiston and Donna Tepper of Grosse Pointe Park, who closed with a 68 for 138.
“There’s no one I’d rather play golf with than Joan,” said Delcamp, who is a Florida resident who has returned home the last two years in part to play in the Four-Ball with Garety. “We have so much fun and every time I play with her, I learn something. She’s a Hall of Famer (Michigan Golf Hall of Fame) for a reason, and she fires me up and she’s just awesome.”
Garety said Delcamp powered the team in the first-round team 67 with six birdies on her own ball.
“Today, we both contributed when it was needed, but Terry played great yesterday and gave us the chance to win again,” she said. “It’s always fun to win, and always fun to play with Terry. We make a great team.”
Shelly Weiss of Southfield and Barb Schmid of Grand Rapids shot a final 71 for 140 to finish third in the Senior Division, and Cathy Netter of Monroe and Julie Gloor of Grosse Ile shot 73 for 143 to finish fourth.
In the Overall Division, Fennell and Jolly called on the chemistry they developed playing in the U.S. Women’s Four-Ball Championship earlier this summer.
“I feel like we feed off each other really well,” Jolly said. “I feel like it’s pretty rare that we get the same score on a hole, and we kind of alternate making birdies. It’s been fun to develop kind of a rhythm. I always hit off the tee first, and we know each other’s strengths and tendencies.”
Fennell said the putts were not really dropping, but they took advantage of the par 5s to produce some birdies and stayed patient.
“We ham-and-egged it, and finally that last putt fell,” Fennell said. “We had fun. I think it’s really cool to play on a team because then it’s about more than just yourself.”
Sabel Imesch of Grosse Pointe Farms and Wayne State University and her teammate Kamryn Shannon of Jackson and Ferris State University shot a final 70 for 137, just one shot out of the playoff.
The defending champions, Grand Valley State golfers Paula Badino, who is from Argentina, and Megan Miron, who is from Canada, finished fourth after a closing 69 for 139.
The Overall and Senior winning teams will have their names inscribed on the permanent tournament trophy, which is named The Garety/Hiestand Trophy in honor of Garety and fellow Michigan Golf Hall of Fame member Mary Jane Hiestand.
RESULTS: At GAM.org or Golf Genius
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