As they walked off the 14th green at Springfield Country Club, Gaithersburg’s Hilary Lawson and Oakton’s Amanda Steinhagen were fuming. Both had three-putted from close range and lost a precious opportunity to win a hole in a tight match.
But that’s the beauty of match play. And that’s the deal in the Bobby Bowers Memorial, a tournament that for 33 years has frustrated and exhilarated the top junior golfers from the Washington-area and beyond.
Putting her angst aside, Lawson finished with four straight pars to hold off Steinhagen in the girls division final, winning 2 up.
“I personally like match play. It’s a different mind game,” said Lawson. “I would never think of trying to get a 3-footer down in two putts. It takes a different mindset.”
Match play often favors the more experienced player. That was the case Thursday as Lawson, a recent graduate of Magruder, bested Steinhagen, a sophomore this fall at Oakton. Lawson won her first Bowers title on a day when she lost the first three holes.
Lawson also benefited from her caddie — Joe Kim, a standout player at Walter Johnson — while Steinhagen lugged her own sticks, tough duty on a hot day of 35 holes. In the morning, Steinhagen outlasted Haymarket’s Alex White, 2 and 1.
“I got a little tired, but not enough to affect my swing,” said Steinhagen, who fell in the finals for the second straight year. “Last year, I didn’t have a caddie all tournament. Then in the finals, the girl I beat inthe semis carried my bag and I played terrible.”
Lawson took the lead by winning three of the first four holes on the back nine. At No. 10, Lawson fired a long iron from thick rough, over a tree and to the fringe on her way to a birdie on the par 5 hole. A par at No. 16 put Lawson up by two before Steinhagen made a 12-foot birdie putt on No. 17 to stay alive.
On No. 18, after Steinhagen hit short and right, Lawson ripped a 260-yard drive down the middle, then hit a wedge to within eight feet to clinch it.
No double for Bonifant
Winning two straight Bobby Bowers titles is difficult, Olney’s Jack Bonifant discovered that Thursday as fell to Michael Swope of Chester, Va., 2 up. Bonifant, a senior this fall at Sherwood, was bidding to become just the third player in tournament history to win the 16-17 division twice.
“Eleven straight matches,” said Bonifant, referring to his two-year run. “You’re gonna get beat once.”
Bonifant missed a 4-foot putt at No. 17 to go 1 down, then got a horrible break on his tee shot on No. 18 as it bounded left, off the fairway and under a tree.
Other matches
» Some players come from far and wide to play in the Bobby Bowers. In the 14-15 division, Smylie Kaufman of Birmingham, Ala. beat Church Waesche of Timonium, 2 and 1.
» In the 13-and-under division, Adam Ball of Richmond toppled Maclean Huge of Lovettsville, Va., 1 up.
