Final-hole birdie carries Donahue, Simmons to title

With a birdie on their final hole, the twosome of Sissy Donahue and Sherre Simmons proved they were more than one-ht wonders at the 35th annual Lassies Classic at Cape Girardeau Country club.

Donahue followed up a Simmons lob wedge shot by rolling in a 6-foot uphill putt on the ninth green to edge out playing partners and 11-time champions Harriette Myers and Diane Fowler by a stroke, as well as 2008 tournament champions Vicki Long and Janice Hoffman.

"It still hasn't sunk in, but it feels good," said Donahue, who is a member of Kimbeland in Jackson.

It was the second Lassies Classic title for the pair, who also won a rain-shortened, one-round event in 2010.

"It was pretty salty shooting," said Simmons about a round of 63 in 2010 that won the title. "But two days, yeah, that means more."

Harriette Myers watches her shot during the Lassies Classic on Thursday at Cape Girardeau Country Club. Myers and playing partner Diane Fowler, who were the two-time defending champions, tied for second.

Donahue and Simmons had rounds 66 and 67 for a two-day total of 9-under-par 133.

Simmons literally had the distinction of being a one-hit wonder with a hole-in-one while playing with Fowler and Myers in the final group last year, which resulted in a second-place finish, five strokes back.

Donahue and Simmons were making their seventh appearance in the tournament, which is a relatively short period in comparison to many of the twosomes in the 100-team field.

"We've been playing together for a long time," said Fowler, who is from New Madrid, Mo. "These two have jumped on the circuit the last few years and both can hit it a long way. They're very confident and keep each other up. They never get down and fight through any type of adversity. They're a good team that keep each other going, and I like to play with them and see them win."

Sherre Simmons hits an approach shot during the Lassie's Classic golf tournament Wednesday, July 17, at Cape Girardeau Country Club. Simmons and her partner Sissy Donahue won the two-women scramble tournament with a two-day nine-under-par final score of 133. (Adam Vogler)

The birdie on No. 9 was the lone birdie that Donahue and Simmons could muster on the front nine and broke a string of 10 consecutive pars.

Barb Dalton lines up her putt during the Lassies Classic on Thursday at Cape Girardeau Country Club. Dalton and playing partner Suzie Rapport finished fourth, two shots off the lead. More photos can be viewed at semoball.com (Adam Vogler)

"We knew we had to birdie there or we were going to be in a playoff for sure," Donahue said.

"We had no choice," Simmons added.

Simmons hit her wedge shot from around 55 yards.

"I wanted to be short; I did not want to be long," said Simmons, who plays out of Cape Jaycee Municipal Golf Course. "Sissy put hers on the back, and I didn't want a downhill putt."

Myers and Fowler, who were the two-time defending tournament champions, appeared to be in prime position for a three-peat as they shot a 6-under 65 on the first day for a one-stroke lead over Donahue and Simmons. Five other teams, including Long and Hoffman, were within three strokes.

But the defending champions, who opened the final round on the 10th hole, were not at their sharpest. They have a history of going low on the back nine, but managed just an even-par 36 over the tract Thursday, which was capped by a bogey on the par-5 18th after both players hit into the winding creek off the tee.

"We like 18," Fowler said. "We weren't even thinking about going into the water to be honest."

They already had burned their two mulligans on short birdie putts in a failed attempt to jump-start their round.

"If we ever get where we're making birdies, we make a lot of birdies," said Fowler, who added that they finished their round a day with an unspent mulligan. "We went for [birdies] and didn't make them, and then after that we were playing with no backup plan."

The team had birdied No. 18 a day earlier, and Fowler and Myers were left looking perplexed at each other after Thursday's round when asked when the last time they bogeyed a hole in the tournament, let alone a par-5.

Vicki Long watches her putt during the second round of the Lassies Classic. Long and playing partner Janice Hoffman finished a stroke out of the lead in a tie for second.

"We didn't really let it bother us, so I was kind of proud of that," Fowler said. "We could have really blown up, but we didn't and we kept fighting back. We got within one. We did what we had to do in the end, which was make birdie and forced them to make birdie."

The bogey on No. 18 returned them to 6-under, two shots behind Donahue and Simmons, who made the turn in 33 with three birdies on the front that moved them to 8-under.

"It was the exact opposite yesterday," Donahue said. "We didn't birdie anything on the back, but in seven holes yesterday we birdied five of them on the front -- nothing on the back."

Fowler and Myers moved to 7-under when they rolled in a 5-foot birdie putt on the par-5 fourth, but the final pairing matched pars over the next four holes before both closed with birdies.

"They're such great competitors and such great people," Donahue said. "Harriette never ceases to amaze me."

Myers showed a deft touch around the green, nearly holing a pitch shot for par on No. 18 in an attempt to save par and nearly made a couple birdie chips on the front nine. But therein was part of the problem.

"We normally don't have to use the chip very often," Fowler said. "Harriette made some amazing chips today that almost went in the hole."

The New Madrid duo shot 69 in their final round, which was far short of some of their previous second rounds in the tournament, which included a 63 last year.

"They are champions," Simmons said. "They've been winning this championship as long as Sissy and I have been playing."

Long and Hoffman started the day two strokes off the lead and turned in the low round of the second day with a 66. Playing in the second-to-last group, the pair birdied all three of the par 3s on the front nine, with the latter at No. 8 plunging their two-day total to 8-under as they grabbed a share of lead with Donahue and Simmons.

However, they missed 5-foot birdie putts on No. 9, before missing lengthy birdie putts from the collar at No. 10 to close their round.

"We put it in close on No. 9, we just couldn't make the putt," Long said. "We thought it broke a lot more than it did."

Barbara Dalton and Suzie Ruppert, who had finished as a runner-up in the past, finished alone in fourth at 135. They excelled on the par 3s, which accounted for all four of their birdies in their second-round 67.

Lassies Classic

(at Cape Girardeau Country Club)

Championship flight

1. Sissy Donahue, Sherre Simmons, 133

2 (t). Harriette Myers, Diane Fowler, 134

2 (t). Vicki Long, Janice Hoffman, 134

4. Barbara Dalton, Suzie Ruppert, 135

5. Alice Temm, Mindy Dull, 136

6 (t). Sandy Barclay, Mary Jane Tyler,137

6 (t). Brenda Schrage, Joy Davis, 137

AA flight

1. Joyce Kuntze, Donna Wheeler, 140

2 (t). Yvonne Cross, Pat Lewis, 144

2 (t). Kathy Morris, Cindy Schmoll, 144

2 (t). Shelia Cunningham, Sandy Dorton, 144

5 (t). Susan Vickery, Terrie Mouser, 146

5 (t). Sandy Weinacht, Wendy Hedberg, 146

5 (t). Martha Hamilton, Barb Johnson, 146

A flight

1 (t). Sandy Magurauy, Kathleen Robinson, 150

1 (t). Kim Saucier, Patti Means, 150

3. Ruth Ann Henager, Nancy Johns, 151

4. Kathy Childers, Jan Reel, 152

5. Jennifer McLemore, Jill Braswell, 153

6. Beverly Matheny, Theresa Rainwater, 154

B flight

1 (t). Judy Horrell, Cindy Stellhorn, 160

1 (t). Luanne Kiefner, Carol Largent, 160

3 (t). Joretta Schwartz, Melissa Hicks, 161

3 (t). Mary Cotner, Becky Hanlon, 161

5 (t). Barb Gallatin, Tammy Kulage, 163

5 (t). Diane Fourdyce, Jeri Traser, 163

5 (t). Sharon Bush, Margaret Schicker, 163

C flight

1. Reba Mell, Connie Coibion, 165

2 (t). Carol Young, Joan Schullian, 166

2 (t). Mary Godwin, Jeanette Telle, 166

4 (t). Linda Tewis, Laura Kozisek, 167

4 (t). Deb Mealy, Laura Woldvedt, 167

6 (t). Kathy Kirksey, Penny Scheibal, 168

6 (t). Linda Shields, Joan Brown, 168

D flight

1. Julie Gusewell, Sandy Campbell, 172

2. Yvette Wattingney, Diane Jacquemin, 173

3 (t). Beth Mapes, Catherine Weed, 176

3 (t). Joyce Spoo, Linda Byrd, 176

5. Denise Lee, Jan Howey, 181

6. Gen Tinkey, Shirley Ruth, 182