Jessica Welch of Thomasville, Ga. captured the Tennessee Women's Open by three shots on Saturday
photo by Tennessee Golf Association
Last year’s chaotic finish to the Tennessee Women’s Open provided a valuable lesson for Jessica Welch. She learned that no lead is ever safe coming down the stretch at Stonehenge Golf Club.
Entering the 2024 final round two shots behind leader Leslie Cloots, Welch was able to draw within a single stroke early in the day. But a quadruple bogey on No. 4 coupled with two late double bogeys dropped Welch into a tie for 11th after posting a disappointing 80.
Cloots also encountered some late difficulties of her own, squandering a four-shot lead by shooting 6-over across her final six holes. A bogey on 18 left her outside a playoff, eventually won by Chelsea Dantonio on the first hole.
As Welch entered Saturday’s closing round of the tournament’s 27th edition, she knew better than to take for granted her six-shot lead. She was aware that potential trouble was lurking throughout the Fairfield Glade layout.
But the Thomasville, Ga. resident who has accumulated five top 10 finishes on the Epson Tour was able to circumvent any catastrophic landmines over her final loop. After increasing her lead to eight shots through her opening seven holes, Welch had plenty of cushion to withstand a late charge by Michaela Morard of Huntsville, Ala. to win by three strokes at 4-under-par 212.
“Coming in with the history I have in this golf tournament and to finally get it done, vindication might be a strong word, but I believe it is the most accurate,” Welch said. “I was the front-runner of the carnage that occurred late in last year’s tournament, so it feels great to put that behind me with a win.”
Welch assembled a 2-over 74 on Saturday, her round punctuated by five bogeys while managing three birdies. The sizzling 65 posted the first day put her atop the leaderboard early in the tournament, and she never relinquished her position across all three days.
The 32-year-old former Jacksonville University golfer carved up Stonehenge with eight birdies on Thursday, two more than she garnered over the final two days combined. But Welch had created enough distance between herself and the rest of the field to enjoy a relatively stress-free journey to the finish line in picking up the $10,000 winner’s prize.
“What I took from last year is that golf will humble you really quick, and especially on a course like this where you do not have a lot of room for error,” Welch said. “Sometimes golf just says ‘It's just not gonna be today. Deal with it.’ I have some scar tissue here with last year being the most dramatic. But that wasn’t the first time I've had a rough third round on that golf course. I would be lying if I said some of those memories were not rushing through my head. So yeah, there was a little bit of defensive golf going on today.”
This was Welch’s second victory in the last month, having won by four at the Michigan PGA Women’s Open in late June. Her recent run of success at state opens offers her a cathartic reprieve from the weekly grind as a tour professional.
“It's really hard to describe, but there's something about the State Opens that lets you compete for the love of the game again,” Welch said. “They're always at amazing golf courses, and there's so much support from the community. It takes you back to why I chose to do this, where I’m not thinking about cut lines and player points and status for next year in Q school.”
Morard, who was seeking to join Courtney Wood Chandler as a two-time winner of this event after capturing a rain-shortened title in 2020, made things interesting for Welch over the final nine holes where she trimmed four shots off her deficit. She was able to birdie 13, 16 and 17 and picked up another shot when Welch bogeyed the last to finish at 1-under 215 after her final round 71.
Lexanne Halama of Knoxville was the low amateur after carding a 71 on Saturday, finishing alone in 3rd place at 3-over 219 to climb eight spots. The former Illinois golfer also used a strong final round at the Tennessee Women’s Amateur to finish tied for 3rd at that event.
Amateurs occupied the next three rungs, led by Karlie Campbell of Ethridge and Jackson’s Tori Robinson who compiled three-day totals of 4-over 220 to tie for 4th. Murfreesboro’s Isabella Johnson shot 77 on Saturday to finish in 6th at 5-over 221.
Alexis Phadungmartvorakul of Bakersfield, Calif. put together the day’s low round with a 69, earning a 7th place tie with Samantha Fritzinger of Okatie, S.C. at 6-over 222. Nashville amateur Molly Hardwick tied for 9th with Susie Cavanagh of Warwick, R.I. with matching scores of 7-over 223.
Tournament Notes
Defending Champion Drought Continues: Dantonio, who hails from East Aurora, N.Y., tied for 21st at 12-over 228 while seeking to defend her crown. Thus, the streak with no winner being able to repeat as champion continues in the event’s 27-year history. Cheryl Fox of Tiffin, Ohio became the first golfer to accomplish that feat in the 10th playing of the Senior Division this year.
Eagles Wild for Birmingham’s Horton: MK Horton, assistant golf professional at the Country Club of Birmingham, accomplished a rare feat during her final round on Saturday. The former Samford golfer had an eagle-eagle finish to her opening nine, leading to final round score of 70 where she was 4-under over her last 11 holes. Horton made a 3 on the 500-yard par-5 8th, then followed that with a deuce on the 365-yard par-4 9th to account for two of the three eagles compiled by the field on Saturday.
Brentwood’s Wilson has Torrid Birdie Run: Amateur Emily Wilson of Brentwood was trudging through her final round at 6-over through 10 holes before she went on a remarkable birdie binge. The University of Memphis rising senior put together a streak of five birdies over her next seven holes finish with a 74, her best round of the tournament.
For complete results, go to Tennessee Women's Open.
Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com