Photo by Adam Vogler
Fran Hudson of Emporia putts on the 10th hole of the Emporia Municipal Golf Course during the Kansas Women’s Golf Association Senior Championship on Wednesday. Hudson won the second flight.
Fran Hudson and Betty Skillett each walked away with a first-place trophy after Wednesday’s Kansas Women’s Golf Association Senior Championship.
Both had the Emporia Municipal Golf Course to thank for that.
The two Emporians both admitted that had the tournament not been in their own backyard, they wouldn’t have participated.
As it was, Hudson had the best net score in the second flight, while Skillett won the net score category in the fifth flight.
“It’s so exciting, really,” Skillett said. “I didn’t feel like I played that well, but I survived.”
Most players did their best to survive on Wednesday, as wind gusts of up to 40 miles an hour made conditions even more difficult.
A few times, Skillett had to wait to putt until her ball stopped wiggling on the green.
Hudson, who fired a gross score of 98 on Wednesday, said it took all her concentration just to get her shots close.
“It was very challenging today. The wind was extremely extreme,” Hudson said. “What’s bad is you don’t know what club to use, and then when you do get up there and try, the wind gusts and pushes you back. You’re just very uncertain how to hit it.”
Even battling the wind, Hudson was able to shoot a net score (which takes in account her handicap) of 158 to take first in the second flight.
She was helped by strong putting, as she rolled in a few long putts she was just trying to get close to the hole.
Though she’d been eligible for the tournament before, Hudson said she’d never considered playing until she learned this year’s competition was in Emporia.
“It was very convenient and close by,” Hudson said. “I really enjoyed it.”
As for Skillett, she might have been most surprised by her success in her first-ever Senior Championship.
She was tied for first in net score after Day One.
“(Tuesday) I looked at everyone’s scores when I left, and I thought, ‘If I play a little better today, I might have a chance,’” Skillett said. “But (today) I played a little worse.”
It didn’t matter. Skillett’s gross score of 118 on Wednesday gave her a 166 net score total, two strokes better than Wichita’s Jan Schraeder.
Skillett’s title came after she talked herself into participating in the event.
“I thought, ‘At least I know the golf course,’ and I know where not to go to stay out of trouble,” Skillett said.
Eight other area golfers competed in the Senior and Super Senior Championships.
Myrna Taunton finished fifth in gross score for Flight Three (201), while Lynda O’Mara was fifth in gross score for the fourth flight (209).
Judy Patton also took fifth in Flight Five gross score (241), while Toni Bowling took seventh (242).
Linda Hogan (Neosho Rapids) and Winifred Endly also competed in the fifth flight.
In the Super Senior Championship, Ida Schierling took sixth in Flight Two gross scoring (235).
Winky Bush, meanwhile, was 12th in Flight One gross scoring (241).
Wichita’s Denise Desilet won the championship flight of the Senior Championship with a 153, while Derby’s Priscilla Lunkenheimer won the Super Senior Championship with a 185.
For full results, please see “From The Scoreboard” on Page 12.
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