First, second seeds still in it

By Al Edenloff Alexandria Echo Press

The top two seeds in the Resorters Women’s Executive Division are still in the hunt.

But how they advanced on Wednesday was vastly different. Betsy Aldrich, the defending champion who has won the division four times, breezed to a 6-5 win. Jodi Sullivan, who won the division in 2018, had to gut out a 19-hole victory.

Third-seeded Molly Baker also survived the opening round, coasting to a 6-5 win.

There were a few upsets too. Joan Frie, the 13th seed, knocked off fourth seed Andrea Allyn, and 12th seed Colleen Boerboom eliminated Karna Peters.

The division’s “elite eight” will next play on Friday, starting from the No. 1 tee at 12:40 p.m.

Here’s a look back at Wednesday’s results:

Aldrich def.

Lambros, 6-5

Aldrich built a solid lead against Rose Lambros, winning the first two holes with par and following that up with a trio of wins – Nos. 4, 5 and 6 with pars. Both golfers had trouble with No. 7, ending up with double-bogeys, but Aldrich quickly regained her footing and matched Lambros’ par on No. 8 and won No. 9 with par to go 6-up at the turn.

Aldrich won No. 10 with par but Lambros responded with a par win on No. 11. It turned out to be the only hole she won. Aldrich matched her pars on the next two holes to preserve a 6-5 win.

Dowd def. T.

Johnson, 3-1

Momentum swung back and forth in the Liz Dowd-Tiffany Johnson match. Dowd won four holes on the front – No. 1, 4, 6 and 8, all with pars. Johnson, meanwhile, struck for three wins – No. 2, 7 and 9, also with pars.

Trailing by one at the turn, Johnson squared the match with a par on No. 10 while Dowd found trouble with a triple-bogey. Dowd, however, bounced back, tak- ing Nos. 12 and 13 with pars to go 2-up. Johnson drew to within one with a par on No. 15 but Dowd hung tough, winning the next two holes with bogeys that gave her a 3-1 victory.

Frie def. Allyn, 4-3

Frie allowed her opponent, Andrea Allyn, to win just two holes in the match – Nos. 3 (with bogey) and 7 (with par).

Frie, meanwhile, notched four wins on the front nine – Nos. 2 (bogey), 4 (bogey), 8 (bogey) and 9 (par) –and held a 2-up lead at the turn.

Frie went to 3-up with a clutch par on No. 10 and added another win on the par-3 13th with a nifty birdie to go 4-up. The golfers swapped bogeys and pars on the next two holes, which gave Frie a 4-3 win.

Boerboom def.

Peters, 1-up

If you like a backand-forth battle with lead changes, rallies and a dramatic finish, the Boerboom-Peters was the match for you Wednesday.

Boerboom grabbed the first lead, a par on No. 2 but Peters came back with back-to-back par wins on Nos. 4 and 5 to go out front. Boerboom responded by kicking her game up a notch, winning Nos. 6, 7 and 8, all with pars, to go 2-up. Peters pulled off a huge rally by winning the next four holes, highlighted by pars on Nos. 9 and 11, to steal the lead and go 2-up.

Then the momentum suddenly switched to Boerboom. She won the next three holes, taking No.13 with birdie, settling for a bogey win on No. 14 and carding another birdie win on No. 15.

Peters mounted one more comeback, winning hole 16 with a bogey to tie the match for the fifth time but Boerboom had one more shining moment – a par on No. 17 that proved to be the difference-maker when both golfers matched pars on No. 18.

Sullivan def.

Lambkin in 19 holes

Sullivan and Paula Lambkin enjoyed their match so much they played an extra hole. Well, not really. It was more of a hard-fought, white-knucle match that neither golfer wanted to end with a mistake.

Lambkin took the early lead by winning No. 1 with birdie and No. 3 with par to go 2-up, a lead she held for the next four holes until

Sullivan finally carded her first win, a par on No. 8.

Sullivan drew even with a par win on No. 11 and took the lead for the first time with a par on the long 12th hole. Lambkin roared back, taking No. 13 with a birdie to tie it. Undaunted, Sullivan made par on No. 14 to regain the lead, but Lambkin tied the match again with a par on the next hole.

Both golfers matched each other on the next three holes, sending it into overtime, where Sullivan came out on top in the first extra hole.

O’Donnell def.

Kammann, 4-3

Amanda O’Donnell won three holes on the front – Nos. 1, 5 and 7 with pars – and limited her opponent, her good friend Jessica Kammann, to just one, a par on No. 6. That gave her a 2-up lead at the turn and she refused to give an inch from there.

O’Donnell won Nos. 12 and 14 with pars and matched Kammann’s par on No. 15 to close out a 4-3 victory.

Baker def.

Sholts, 6-5

Baker came out blazing against Cathy Sholts, taking the first four holes with two pars and two bogeys.

Sholts won No. 6 with par but a bogey on No. 9 put her down by four holes at the turn. Baker won No. 10 with a birdie but Sholts responded with a birdie of her own on No. 11. Baker, however, kept the pressure on and won Nos. 12 and 13 with pars to close out a 6-5 win.

Cavers def.

Faith, 3-2

Some very good golf on the front nine carried Jen Cavers to a 3-2 win over Stacy Faith.

Faith won the first hole with par and struck for a birdie win on No. 4 but Cavers collected five holes on the front – Nos. 3, 5, 7, 8 and 9, highlighted by a birdie on No. 9 that put her 3-up at the turn.

Faith made a birdie on No. 11 and drew to within two. Cavers bounced right back with a par win on No. 12 to go 3-up. From there, the golfers matched each other on the next four holes, preserving a 3-2 win for Cavers.