CROMWELL, Conn. – On the first green of her first round of the Greater Hartford Open yesterday, Suzy Whaley’s nerves were so frazzled she three-putted from five feet, turning a potential par into an embarrassing double bogey.
Five hours later Whaley stood on the fringe of the 18th green, eyeing another putt that questioned her courage, this one a 37-footer, all downhill, with a chance to easily race past the hole.
“That putt is brutal,” Whaley would say later. “It’s downhill and as soon at it passes the cup, it runs away from you. I had a fleeting moment of feeding it up there and getting it close, getting my par and getting out of there. But I’m a little too competitive for that. I wanted to make a birdie, so I decided to hit it on the line.”
On the first hole, Whaley needed three putts. On the 18th, she needed just one. Her 37-footer snaked over the green and dropped in the cup, bringing a roaring gallery to its feet, and putting an exclamation point on her round of a lifetime.
Her only birdie left her with 5-over-par 75, 12 strokes behind co-leaders Jay Haas and Peter Jacobsen, but ahead of former British Open champ David Duval, who crumbled to an 83, former U.S. Open champ Scott Simpson (77) and 11 other golfers, including one of her playing partners, Anthony Painter (76). Though tied for 138th, Whaley felt like she’d finished first.
After that opening double bogey, she played the remaining 17 holes in 3-over, surviving a stiff wind and a soggy course that made the TPC at River Highlands more difficult than she could have imagined. She hit just three iron shots into greens, not counting the 17th where an errant drive forced her to chip out. But her fairway woods kept her close enough to compete.
“I had more fun than I thought I would, and it was tougher than I thought it would be because of the conditions,” Whaley said. “But the experience was more than I could have ever imagined with all those people cheering for me. It was an unbelievable experience.”
Despite her first hole jitters, it was Whaley’s putting stroke that saved her round. She made a 28-footer on the par-5 sixth to salvage par, and a nine-footer on 17 to save another par. Her score could have been lower but she missed putts for par inside 15 feet on 3, 7 and 16. But the finish more than made up for the missed opportunities.
“To handle the crowds and everybody pulling for her was pretty cool,” said LPGA player Michelle McGann, whose father Bucky carried Whaley’s bag. “The way she drove the ball was beautiful and to make that last putt was awesome.”
This was nothing like the Colonial last May when Annika Sorenstam became the first woman in 58 years to play in a PGA Tour event. Whaley qualified for the GHO by becoming the first woman to win the Connecticut section PGA Championship. So this was more of feel-good event, a Connecticut celebration of sorts.
She was helped a gallery that showered her with positive vibes. “Go, Suzy!,” and the obligatory, “You the Woman!” was heard from the first tee to the last
“I credit the fans with helping me get through that round,” she said. “They kept a mile on my face all day. They were great.”
So was Whaley.
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GH0 leaderboard
Jay Haas 63 -7
Peter Jacobsen 63 -7
Dennis Paulson 64 -6
Craig Barlow 65 -5
Kenny Perry 66 -4
Jonathan Kaye 66 -4
K.J. Choi 66 -4
Notables
Phil Mickelson 67 -3
Suzy Whaley 75 +5
David Duval 83 +13
