Great golfing and perfect weather were the order of the day at Shorewood Country Club, Tuesday, during the New York State Senior and Super Senior Women's Championship.
The leaderboard showed a tight race at the top following the first round.
Sharyn Costello took the overall lead with a score of 78, one stroke better than Kim Kaul's 79. Tracy Barnard was right on their heels at 82.
Article Photos
OBSERVER?Photos by Stefan Gestwicki
Pictured above is Gail Brophy hitting out of a sand trap Tuesday, during the 60th New York State Senior Women’s Amateur Golf Championship, being held at Shorewood Country Club.
Kaul wasn't exactly thrilled with her score, but had nothing but positive reviews for both the tournament and for Shorewood.
"It's always a great tournament," the Boston, NY native said. "There's not as many golfers here as usual, but there's some key players. It'll be competitive.
"I'm not happy with my score," Kaul continued. "You've got to get used to the greens and make sure you're below the hole. I scrambled a bit."
In the field of the best senior golfers in the state were both rookies and veterans. Kathy Hunt of Buffalo was participating for the tenth time while Fredonia's own Judy Mowery was a first time participant in the New York State Championship.
"This is my first time," Mowery said. "It's been quite interesting. The course is in great shape and the weather is ideal. I guess the turnout in terms of participants is down, but that's probably because it's so far in Western New York. The course is tough. It's been fun."
"It never gets old," Hunt added. "It's very pretty being right on the lake.
"The greens are tough," she continued. "I played fair. I wasn't hitting the ball well, but I was putting well. The greens are faster on the back than they are on the front and you have to adjust."
The tournament is made up of New York State's best amateur golfers split into two age groups. 'Seniors' are 50 years old and over while 'Super Seniors' are 65 and over.
Play will conclude today beginning at 8 a.m. with tee times running through 10:15 a.m. The leaders will tee off last and are expected to finish around 2:30 p.m. Spectators are permitted on the course during play, but aren't allowed to use golf carts.
Following today's action will be an awards ceremony to recognize the best overall golfers as well as the top athletes in each age group.
Look for coverage of the final round of the tournament in Thursday's edition of the OBSERVER.
