David Hughes
The Tribune-Star
TERRE HAUTE —
Ball State and Indiana State needed overtime to settle their differences Monday afternoon at Rea Park.
Actually, this wasn’t basketball and neither university was officially involved.
But both were proudly represented in the entertaining championship-flight finale of the Terre Haute Women’s City Match Play Championships as two extra holes were needed to determine a winner.
Linton resident Rachael Pruett, a senior-to-be on the Ball State women’s golf team, won her third straight women’s city title by chipping in from 18 feet on the 20th hole (No. 2 on the course) and edging recent ISU graduate Mackenzie Mack 1 up.
According to tournament historian Carl Bender, this was the first time extra holes were needed in the women’s city championship match since 1992, when Nancy Groth defeated Mary Fechtig in 21 holes at Rea Park.
The 21-year-old Pruett, wearing red and white shoes to show her Ball State loyalty, and 22-year-old Mack, wearing ISU blue all over, birdied the first hole and parred the second hole Monday morning.
Then Mack took the first lead of the day on the 128-yard third hole. Even though she bogeyed, Pruett double-bogeyed.
After both birdied No. 4 and bogeyed No. 5, Pruett evened the score on 6 when she converted a birdie putt and Mack parred.
On the next hole, No. 7, Pruett went 1 up when her par beat Mack’s bogey. Both birdied No. 8, but Pruett went 2 up with a birdie on the ninth hole.
Both parred No. 10, but the long-driving Mack pulled within one hole by sinking a birdie putt on 11.
Pars on 12 and 13 kept the score the same. On the 240-yard, par-4 14th hole, Pruett’s second shot skipped too far and landed past the green and Mack reached the green in two. Mack later parred, making Pruett’s bogey putt unnecessary and tying the score.
Both parred No. 15 as more and more fans, including nine-time Women’s City champion Carrie Werneke, came out to watch the final holes.
Pruett knocked in a birdie putt on 16 to go back up by one hole. But Mack made a 3-foot par putt on 17 — after Pruett’s par putt curved too far to the left — to knot the score again heading to the 18th hole.
That’s where Pruett dropped in an 8-foot par putt and conceded Mack’s short par putt to set up extra holes.
The duo used No. 1, a 232-yard par 4, as their 19th hole. Pruett rolled her second shot too long and off the green and Mack chipped a little past the hole, but still in better shape than Pruett.
Or so it appeared.
On their third shots, Pruett chipped a little past the hole and Mack barely missed a 15-foot putt. Pruett sank a 10-footer for par while conceding Mack’s inches-away par putt to keep the drama building for one more hole.
Using the 283-yard, par-4 No. 2 as their 20th hole, Mack hit her tee shot left but seemingly a safe distance from the trees and Pruett drove straight, as usual for her.
Pruett yelled “get up, get up” as her second shot landed just short of the green, but Mack’s second shot struck a tree limb and caromed straight down, well short of the green.
Mack chipped short of the hole, then Pruett’s 18-foot chip with a pitching wedge rolled straight into the hole for a birdie and the victory.
“Obviously, it was nice to be able to put it away and not have to make a short par putt to extend the match one more hole,” Pruett told the Tribune-Star.
“I’ve played that shot a million times … so I knew how to hit the shot. No, it doesn’t always go in. But you look at a shot sometimes and think, ‘I like the look of this. I think I can make it.’ And even though I had hit a really poor shot on the previous hole, I’ve matured a lot as a golfer to be able to put that behind me, take a few deep breaths, let it go and move on. Three or four years ago, I couldn’t have pulled this off.”
Pruett praised Mack for “making some good shots” and keeping her on her toes, but she thinks she could have won sooner if she had not missed some short putts that she ordinarily would have made.
“In the end, my putter came through,” Pruett noted.
Pruett acknowledged that there might have been a slight Ball State vs. Indiana State friendly rivalry brewing during the match.
“Mackenzie and Diana Price [Mack’s caddy] had on their Indiana State stuff,” mentioned Pruett, who pointed to her BSU shoes that didn’t match the rest of her attire. “I used Ball State balls today as well.
“As far as teams go — not me and Mackenzie personally — we had a tough loss to [ISU] at Southern Illinois’ tournament this past season and that didn’t set well with us. We didn’t like that, so that was kind of in the back of my mind and I thought, ‘Hey, I gotta defend my team.’ I had to pull this out for my team.”
Meanwhile, Mack jokingly replied “Oh definitely” when asked if this seemed like Indiana State vs. Ball State on the course again.
“It was lots of fun,” she insisted. “The driver was all over the place, definitely… but I tried to come back and hit some greens from way left.”
Looking ahead, Pruett said she may not be able to defend her women’s city crown next summer because she’ll need to do an internship somewhere to obtain her bachelor’s degree in exercise science. She’s not sure of the location of that internship, however, so she may be back.
Mack, a Las Vegas native, sounds fairly certain she’ll be back in 2011 because she’s pursuing a master’s degree in business administration at ISU.
“I plan to go on the Futures Tour eventually,” Mack added. “If I’m in town [next year], I will definitely play this [women’s city] again. It was a blast. Everybody’s been nice to me and supportive all the way through.”
• • •
Women’s City notes — Awards were distributed during a luncheon that followed at the Holiday Inn.
Honored were Pruett, fewest putts (24), medalist in Friday’s qualifying round (with a 63) and championship-flight champion; Mack, championship-flight runner-up; Katelyn Gosnell, championship-flight consolation winner; Sandy Stabler, first-flight champion; Chelsea Samuels, first-flight runner-up; Shawn Durand, first-flight consolation winner; Tricia Finney, second-flight champion; Katie Thomas, second-flight runner-up; Linda Price, second-flight consolation winner; Sharon Hamilton, third-flight champion; Stacey Bocard, third-flight runner-up; Lorri Ugo, third-flight consolation winner; Carol Davis, fourth-flight champion; Patti West, fourth-flight runner-up; and Pat Cannon, senior medalist (86).
Terre Haute Women’s Golf Association vice president Eileen Mann described the championship flight as “the flight that made lunch late” before handing out its awards.
• Championship-flight caddies were Chris Pruett for his daughter Rachael and ISU golfer Diana Price for her friend and former teammate Mack.
• The 2011 Terre Haute Women’s City will take place at Hulman Links.
• Primary sponsors for the 2010 tournament were Smith Barney-Terry Hogan, Champions Awards and Crystal Maid Service.
Terre Haute Women’s City Match Play golf championships
Monday’s results
At Rea Park
Championship flight
Championship— Rachael Pruett def. Mackenzie Mack, 1 up (20 holes).
Consolation — Katelyn Gosnell def. Bailey Craft, 1 up (20 holes).
First flight
Championship — Sandy Stabler def. Chelsea Samuels, 4 and 2.
Consolation — Shawn Durand def. Josie Swalls, 4 and 3.
Second flight
Championship — Tricia Finney def. Katie Thomas, 1-up (19 holes).
Consolation — Linda Price def. Morgan Patterson, 5 and 4.
Third flight
Championship — Sharon Hamilton def. Stacey Bocard, 3 and 1.
Consolation — Lorri Ugo def. Sheri Harden, 9 and 7.
Fourth flight
Championship — Carol Davis def. Patti West on Sunday.
