Grier struggles in final round at Gettysburg

August 25, 2008|By TIM KOELBLE

GETTYSBURG, Pa. -- Ashley Grier won't lose any sleep fussing over her final round Sunday in the Duramed FUTURES Tour Gettysburg Championship.

Grier, of Hagerstown, struggled through a tough final round, carding a 9-over-par 81 that dropped her to a tie for 60th place on the tough Links of Gettysburg course with a three-day total of 277.

Samantha Richdale, of British Columbia, captured her first professional victory with a 1-over 73 round that gave her a leading card of 5-under 211.

"For some reason I had a restless night of sleep (Saturday) and was really tired today," said Grier. "It was hard to get focused."

Symbolic of her overall tournament, Grier finished with a bogey on the par-5, 519-yard 18th hole after a 50-foot putt for par stopped about an inch from the cup.

"I knew the putt wasn't going in, that's the way it was the whole tournament," said Grier, who had 37 putts Sunday.

During the first two rounds, Grier couldn't buy a birdie putt, especially on Saturday when she hit 17 greens, .

Sunday, it was a combination of putting, club selection and shot direction at times that was her undoing.

"I had too much club on the first, the wind took a shot on five, I pushed a shot left on seven, had bunker and deep grass lies on 10 and 11," said Grier.

Nonetheless, Grier was still positive after completing her round and looks forward to a busy end of the season. After an idle week on tour, Grier will be in Albany, N.Y., Sept. 5-7 and then will work on bringing her game further along in an attempt at the LPGA Q-School. She'll also play in the Maryland Open in October.

Richdale offset a pair of double bogeys with four birdies to win the $14,000 prize that nearly matched her previous career earings of $18,500.

Only five of the 71 golfers managed subpar rounds Sunday.

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