The final round of the Volvik Georgia Women’s Open began with one of the strongest final pairings in tournament history.
Roswell’s Jessica Haigwood, coming off a runaway victory in the Judson Collegiate Invitational a few weeks earlier and last year’s Georgia Women’s Open runner-up, began the final round with a slim lead after an opening 68.
Karen Paolozzi, who made national headlines in late June when she turned in a strong effort against the country’s top male club professionals in the PGA PNC, was one shot back after a 69.
The third member of the group was three-time Georgia Women’s Open champion Margaret Shirley, who won last year’s tournament at Brookfield, and was tied for 3rd after an opening 72.
None of the three was able to get anything going on the front nine, but things got interesting on the back, with a huge momentum swing beginning at the perilous par-5 13th hole.
Paolozzi, who trailed Haigwood by three strokes with five holes to play, made up that deficit in just two holes and held off a late Haigwood rally to score her first victory in a Georgia PGA event.
A final round 71 gave Paolozzi a 4-under 140 total and a 1-stroke victory over Haigwood, who shot 73 in the final round.
After a front nine marked by 25 of a possible 27 pars for the final pairing, the back nine had its share of highlights, lowlights and clutch efforts, beginning with Paolozzi’s only stumble of note on the short, par-4 10th, the easiest hole at Brookfield.
From a less than desirable lie, Paolozzi chunked her short second shot and made bogey, ending a string of nine straight pars to start the round.
Haigwood parred her first 10 holes, lipping out or burning the edge on at least half of them. She finally got a birdie putt to drop on the par-3 11th, a hole she aced in the opening round. Both Haigwood and Paolizzi came close to chipping in for birdie on the 13th before Haigwood made the first of two costly mistakes.
Standing on the 14th tee with a three-stroke lead, Haigwood did not make perfect contact on her drive, which failed to clear the lake that angles along the left edge of the fairway. She salvaged a bogey by making a “birdie” with her second ball, but Paolozzi reached the green in two and scored her first birdie of the day to close within one of Haigwood.
Both players pulled their tee shots on the par-3 15th, with Haigwood’s ball ending up in the lake that borders both 14 and 15. She made double bogey while Paolozzi was fortunate her ball stayed out of the hazard, and was able to save par after a deft pitch shot.
Paolozzi increased her lead to two with a birdie at the par-5 16th, but Haigwood stayed alive when she holed a lengthy birdie putt on the long, par-4 17th. Haigwood had a chance for a tying birdie on the 18th, but missed a putt in the 8-foot range after her second shot to the par-5 took an unkind bounce and wound up in the bunker behind the green.
After coming up just short of the green in two, Paolozzi left herself a tricky, downhill putt for birdie, but did not need to make it after Haigwood’s birdie attempt missed.
Paolozzi, an assistant professional at Druid Hills Golf Club who recently moved into the Georgia PGA Section, said her putt at 18 “became a little easier” after Haigwood’s miss, and gently nudged it to tap-in range to seal her victory.
Haigwood, who played Brookfield frequently as a member of the Roswell girls golf team, enjoyed an excellent freshman season for the Augusta State lady Jaguars, and has recorded some strong showings on Roswell courses, winning the recent Judson Collegiate at Country Club of Roswell
Duluth’s Kendall Wright, the 2012 Georgia Women’s Open champion, was 3rd at 142 after a 68, the lone sub-70 score the final day. After an opening 74, Wright moved into contention with consecutive birdies at holes 4, 5 and 6, and challenged for the lead with birdies at 10 and 14 before taking her lone bogey of the day at the 15th. Wright was 78th on the Symetra Tour money list for 2014 with three top-25 finishes
Carmen Bandea of Johns Creek, who tied Haigwood for 2nd last year, was 4th at 143, her fifth straight finish of 4th or better in the tournament. Bandea, who won the Connecticut Women’s Open earlier this year on the third playoff hole, has seven top-5 finishes in the Georgia Women’s Open since 2005, including a playoff loss in ’07.
Bandea shot 72 the first day, but a double-bogey at the par-3 eighth dropped her to 1over for the tournament. Birdies at 13, 14 and 15 got her within a shot of the lead, but a bogey at the 17th ended her hopes of victory. Bandea has enjoyed success in recent years on the Canadian Women’s Tour and has limited status on the Symetra Tour.
Also tying for 4th at 143 was Tennessee pro Courtney Shelton, one of a small group of out-of-state golfers who were able to participate in the Georgia Women’s Open for the first time.
Shirley, who won the tournament in 2006 and ’08 before scoring a 5-stroke victory last year, was 6th at 145 after a second round 73. Shirley, who also has five other top-5 finishes in the tournament dating back to 2003, was only two shots off the lead after birdies at 12 and 14. But she bogeyed the 15th and closed with a double-bogey on the 18th.
The Atlanta area native played her college golf at Auburn and now works as the Manager of Rules and Competition for Atlanta Junior Golf after serving as an assistant coach for the women’s golf teams at Georgia and Auburn. She was the runner-up in last year’s U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur.
Paolozzi and her husband Vinnie moved into the Georgia PGA Section earlier this year from Ohio, with Vinnie working as an assistant at Cherokee Town & Country Club. Karen won several tournaments in college at Indiana, including the Big 10 Championship, and has scored victories in both the Middle Atlantic and Northern Ohio PGA Sections. She played a few years on the Futures (now Symetra) Tour after college, with her best showing a playoff loss in 2006.
Her victory at Brookfield was the first in a state open for Paolozzi, who played steadily both days with only one bogey in each round. She birdied the par-5 14th and 16th holes in both rounds, and scored back-to-back birdies on holes 1 and 2 (her 10th and 11th) in an opening round 69.
“I hit it better yesterday,” she said after her victory. “I did not hit it very close today, but I did not hit a bad shot other than the one on 10.”
Paolozzi’s win continued a nice summer stretch of play highlighted by the PGA Professional National Championship in Myrtle Beach, where she tied for 49th in a field of more than 300 of the top PGA club professionals in the U.S.
“It was stressful,” Paolozzi said of her week in the national spotlight. “But it probably turned out as good as I could have expected. I wanted to make the first cut and I did it. Then I wanted to make the second cut and advance to the final round and I did it.”
Paolozzi played her best golf of the tournament in the second round, carding four birdies on her final round for a 71 to make the 36-hole cut. Golf Channel’s cameras stuck with her as completed her strong showing that day, and she continued to attract media attention the final two days as she wound up with the best finish ever by a female in the PNC.
“I was happy with the way I was able to handle it,” Paolozzi said of the interest she drew from the media, which was something she anticipated but not to such an extent.”
Paolozzi was particularly pleased with how well she played when the cameras were on the second day, proving to both herself and those watching on Golf Channel that she has the game to compete at the top level of the club professional ranks.