Davison, Tonore advance at Women’s Mid-Am
CHOUDRANT – The frustrating side of golf returned for local favorites Sarah Davison and Ashley Tonore Sunday in the second round of medal play at the 29th annual U.S. Women’s Mid-Am Championship but in the big picture both have sailed into Monday’s match play competition set for picturesque Squire Creek.
After leading at even-par on Saturday, Davison, the Bossier City native and former Alabama All-American, posted 79 Sunday while Monroe’s Ashley Tonore added an 81 to go with her previous 74, which was second on the first day.
Thus, Davison heads into match play as the third seed at 72-79—151 and Tonore, former LPGA player from LSU who is returning to competitive golf after a decade, is tied for 11th at 155.
Davison said, “I could never get the speed right on my putting and it made it very stressful the whole day. I still hit the ball well but a lot of time my lag putts were off and very few of the pars I made were easy.”
Davison misfired on two short irons on the front side that both resulted in double bogeys, first at No. 2 and later following a big drive on No. 6 when she had a wedge in but hit it heavy and eventually three putted.
The up side is that “I still feel like I am in great shape. And, really, no matter who I draw, anybody in match play is capable of winning. I just have to be patient, avoid mistakes and play steady golf. That is a real key to match play. Don’t beat yourself. And, you have to be able to get up and down for pars.”
In describing her own Sunday struggles, Tonore said, “Yesterday we picked the correct club all day and today we didn’t. It seemed that I had a lot of in-between distances and just about every time I made the wrong decision.”
After starting with three straight pars, the former West Monroe state champion hit her first real snag of this tournament, falling into a bogey rut that lasted for five straight holes, four through eight. Eventually, she righted the ship with a birdie on No. 9 and finished her front side with a 4-over-par 40.
She then ran into a similar situation on the backside as the winds swirled and the extra-cool conditions played havoc with Tonore’s irons.
“Just like on the front, I made quite a few wrong choices and left myself with a lot of tough par putts. I missed my share and it resulted in an 81 for the day,” she said matter-of-factly.
Still, there is no denying that while it was a frustrating round, the first two days of 74-81 — 155 easily put her into the match play portion of the tournament.
“Yes, that was my first big goal for this week,” she said. “I knew there would be some bumps in the road. It has been a long time since I went through a big-event test. So I do feel very good about having played well enough — and mainly kept my composure well enough — to earn a slot in match play.
“I have always liked match play and I look forward to that opportunity Monday. It doesn’t matter who I face, in my mind it will be about how I play, how I control my golf ball,” she remarked.
Sunday’s round, which whittled the field from 132 to 64 for match play, featured two outstanding rounds of note. The first was produced by Canadian Casey Ward who posted the only sub-par round of the medal play format. She shot 2-under-par 70 to go with her first round 74 and earned the No. 1 seed with a 144 total.
The day’s other hero was defending champion Margaret Shirley of Roswell, Georgia, who fell very ill an hour before tee time. Most thought that she would have to drop out of the event but the former Auburn standout somehow summoed the will and courage to play and responded with a 77 and is tied for fourth at 75-77—152.
Shirley played alongside Davison, who said, “She is really a trooper. She wasn’t feeling well at all but she never complained, kept to herself and just plugged along. It was a gutsy performance and I really admire her.”
Shirley is tied with the third Louisiana player who hopes to make some noise, veteran Covington product Kay Daniel, 44, who has posted 77-78—155, and comes here owning seven Louisiana Mid-Am titles.