Fairways • August 2011
A Momment to Cherish
by Mike Sorensen

Ever since Bev Nelson captured the Women's State Amateur in 1979 at age 53, Utah's premier women's event has been the playground for younger women.

In the 31 tournaments since then, every tournament but one has been won by teenagers or a woman in her 20s.

So it was refreshing to see a couple of women in their 40s, square off for the 105th State Amateur title at Layton's Valley View Golf Course in late July.

After a spirited extra-hole match, 43-year-old Julie McMullin won her first State Am title, defeating 42-year-old Lachell Poffenberger, who had won the tournament three times previously.

McMullin, who owns a vacation-home business in Park City, was emotional as she accepted the large silver trophy as several friends cheered her triumph.

"I can't put it into words, it's just incredible,'' a teary McMullin said. "It's been a long time coming.''

McMullin has been among the top women golfers for the past 15 years, but said she came into this year's State Am playing the best golf of her life. She had made some changes to her swing as well as her putting stroke and had twice lowered the women's course record at the Jeremy Golf Club, the latter time with a 67.

In the new format instituted a year earlier, the women's championship was decided by match play after the field was reduced to 16 by medal play, although this year, the medal play was extended from one to two days.

Kelsey Chugg, a transfer who will be a junior at Weber State this fall, took the first round lead with a 73, but faltered the second day with an 81 and tied for sixth. Annika Afoa, a 20-year-old from Murray, who will be a sophomore on the BYU golf team, won medalist honors with two straight 74s.

McMullin and Poffenberger tied for sixth in medal play at 154 and advanced through opposite sides of the bracket to the finals.

In the first round, McMullin defeated Annette Gaiotti, one of the few golfers older than her, 3 & 2, before beating BYU golfer Amanda Keith in the quarterfinals 2 & 1.

Poffenberger knocked off Mikayla Williamson 3 and 2 in the first round and came from behind to beat Weber State golfer Nyomy Obcemea 2 & 1 in the second round.

The most entertaining quarterfinal match was between Chugg and Tara Green, an 18-year-old Weber High graduate, who is attending the University of Montana in the fall.

Green appeared to have the match in hand, leading by three with four holes left and by two with two holes left. But, suddenly she got a case of the shanks and double-bogeyed two straight holes to send the match to extra holes.

On the first playoff hole she hit another shank on her approach shot to the green, only to recover and make an up-and-down to prolong the match. Then at the second extra hole, Green hit a splendid wedge shot within 12 feet and sank the birdie putt to win.

In the semifinals, Green took a 3-up lead over Poffenberger after nine holes, but faltered on the back side and lost 1 up. In the other semifinal, McMullin broke away from an even match with Afoa with par at 15 and then closed out the match at 17.

After dispatching of opponents half their age, McMullin and Poffenberger were excited to be representing the older set in the finals.

"We both enjoyed the fact that we're both veterans and have been competing against each other for a long time,'' said McMullin. "I guess I'm the oldest of the veterans. I feel like I'm always playing someone who's younger in this tournament. I barely survived.''

Poffenberger, a middle school teacher in Salt Lake, pointed out that it had been 12 years since a golfer past her mid-20s had won the tournament, going back to the 1999 win by 36-year-old Sue Nyhus and said, it was "a long time for us older people to break through.''

In their afternoon final, neither player led by more than a hole in a closely-contested match that went to the 19th hole.

McMullin led by one after nine holes and it looked like she'd get another at No. 10 when she hit on the green within 15 feet, while Poffenberger hit into the bunker.

However, Poffenberger hit a brilliant shot out of the sand from 30 feet that rolled into the hole and immediately threw her hands in the air in celebration. The match was even after McMullin missed ber putt.

McMullin came back to win No. 12 with a par, but Poffenberger had two chances to tie the match, but missed a pair of four-foot par putts at the 14th and 15th holes. She later said those missed putts were the difference in the outcome.

Poffenberger came back to tie the match with a 15-foot birdie putt at No. 17 and said "That was the only putt I made all day long.''

At No. 18, both players hit their second shots into the front left bunker. You figured Poffenberger had the edge since she had holed that great shot on 10, while McMullin had twice failed to escape bunkers on the front nine.

And that's what happened. McMullin went first and left her shot in the sand. The second try wasn't much better, ending up on the fringe, 20 feet above the hole. Meanwhile Poffenberger barely got out onto the fringe, but knocked her next shot to within a foot.

That left McMullin with a testy downhill putt from off the green that broke slightly to the right, which she had to make or the match was over.

"I've learned in all the tournaments I've played, just don't give up on the hole,'' McMullin said. "Even though I was really frustrated with my two bunker shots, I just wasn't going to give up. I was going to give it everything I had.''

The putt trickled down the green and at the last moment, fell in the right side of the hole, much to the delight of her friends at greenside, who whooped and hollered.

The match moved to the downhill par-4 No. 1 hole, where McMullin was thinking "just put it somewhere on the green and two putt and get out of here.''

After McMullin stuck her approach shot 25 feet past the hole, it was Poffenberger's turn. She was in a divot and her approach was short and to the right. From there she bladed her chip across the green to about the same distance away as McMullin.

When McMullin putted within a foot, Poffenberger had to sink her downhill tester and just missed, leaving McMullin the winner.

For Poffenberger it was another in a string of heartbreaking State Am finishes. Although she won in 1989, 1991 and 1998, she has finished second seven times, including two in playoffs and three times by one shot.

For McMullin, the State Am victory is one she will cherish for a long time.

Mike Sorensen is a sports writer for the Deseret Newsand a frequent contributor to Fairways.