Herrick's 71 Leads 18th MGA Women's Mid-Am at Victory Links

By Nick Hunter
nhunter@mngolf.org


BLAINE, Minn. – In her first year eligible for the 2014 Minnesota Golf Association Women’s Mid-Amateur, Olivia Herrick wasted little time navigating her way to the top of the leaderboard Sunday with an even-par round of 71 at Victory Links Golf Course.

For over ten years the tournament has been primarily dominated by Leigh Klasse, who has six titles including a five-year run from 2004-08, and by Claudia Pilot, who has won the event four times, with a three-year stretch from 2001-2003.

Herrick, Dellwood Country Club, didn’t exactly start the round on the right note, but battled back extremely well and will take a two-stroke lead into the final round.

“I got off to a rocky start at 2-over through three holes, but this is my first big tournament of the year so I kept telling myself to calm down and hang in there,” she said. “I was able to take advantage of some of the shorter holes. I knocked it close a couple of times and made five-footers.”

Herrick made bogey on the opening hole of the tournament and another at the third before a birdie on the 309-yard, par-4 fifth hole to get back to 1-over par. After three consecutive pars, Herrick made the turn at 1-over par 36, continually finding her rhythm.

With back-to-back birdies on the 10th and 11th holes, Herrick quickly fell to 1-under for the day. A bogey on the following hole put her back to even par, but she again responded with another birdie at the 16th. After a bogey on the 17th, Herrick rolled in her par putt on the final hole to finish atop the field at even par 71.

“I was hitting my irons well today. Every time I put myself in position off of the tee I was able to put the ball close. I kind of scrambled a little bit but I was able to keep it together,” she said.

Herrick believed her first birdie of the day on the sixth hole was the turning point in her round after coming off of two bogeys and a difficult wind-riddled fifth hole.

“I survived five—it was a tough hole with the wind and it was raining at that point,” Herrick said. “I put my second shot to about three feet and then I felt like I had things moving in the right direction.”

Defending champion Claudia Pilot carded a 2-over par 73 Sunday and will need to overcome a two-stroke deficit Monday in hopes of picking up her fifth victory at this event, something she’s accustomed to doing.

A year ago Pilot rallied from four strokes down at Cragun’s Resort in Brainerd, Minn., during the final day to win the tournament by four strokes over Klasse.

Pilot also got off to a rocky start Sunday with two straight birdies on the second and third holes before settling down with a birdie on the fourth, but a double-bogey on the fifth hole quickly put her at 3-over par through five holes.

Again Pilot battled back with a birdie on the sixth and would make the turn at 2-over par 37. She saw a much more consistent back nine as Pilot would make bogey on the 14th to again go to 3-over for the day, but rallied with a birdie at the 16th and would finish at 2-over par 73.

“I started out very, very shaky. I had a stupid bogey on two and three, I birdied four but then doubled five,” Pilot explained. “The fifth hole played so long today—it was into the wind and it was really wet that I ended up three-putting. I was able to recover a bit with a birdie on six.”

Pilot, an inductee into the MGA-PGA Minnesota Hall of Fame in 2013, said she benefitted from playing golf all winter while in Arizona. “I played a lot of golf up until April and then really didn’t play at all in April. Today I drove the ball really well and my putting was really good. I was right around the hole with most of my putts. Overall I’m happy today, but I’m still a litatle upset about a couple of holes.”

Kara Salava carded a 4-over par 75 Sunday and will start the final round four strokes behind Herrick. Salava, Keller Golf Club, finished the opening nine holes at 3-over 38 before shooting a 1-over 37 on the back nine.

Six-time champion Leigh Klasse, Meadowbrook Golf Club, and Betsy Aldrich, Woodhill Country Club, sit tied for fourth after the opening round of competition Sunday after both shot a 5-over par 76, while two others are tied for sixth at 77.


For complete tournament results go to: http://www.mngolf.org/Tournament/18th_MGA_Womens_Mid-Amateur_Championship