Hoffman, Long cruise to seven-shot win at Lassies Classic

Janice Hoffman says she doesn't play the lottery.

But she does play golf, and more specifically the Lassies Classic.

Hoffman revealed herself as a nonparticipant of the lottery on the second-to-last green at Cape Girardeau Country Club on Friday when Mary Jane Tyler and Sandy Barclay presented the question.

Hoffman had just bounced her tee shot off the hillside to the right of the par 3 No. 8 green and saw her ball kick left and out of view on the 95-yard uphill hole.

When the group arrived at the green, they found three balls on the green. Hoffman's ball looked like it had already had a close encounter with the pin as it sat just 3 feet on the downhill side of the hole. The only thing unlucky about the shot is that it didn't go in — like the shot she made on the previous hole, when she holed a 106-yard pitching wedge for an eagle.

Long cleaned up the only bit of Hoffman's missing luck on No. 8 for birdie — part of the team's 11-under round.

"It was one of those fun days. When it happens, it's fun." Hoffman said of the magic in the team's round of 60, which followed an opening round of 66 and gave them a seven-shot victory over the team of Barbara Dalton and Suzie Ruppert (69-64—133).

Diana King watched her ball after hitting it from the sand trap Thursday.

It was the third title for the pair, which finished second the last two seasons to Harriette Myers and Diane Fowler, who did not participate this year due to a conflict in their schedule.

Barclay and Tyler, who began the day tied for second with past champions Leslie Steele and Robyn Young, found themselves overmatched with the rest of the field. Barclay and Tyler, who both hail from western Kentucky, matched their opening 68 and tied for third with Steele and Young.

"We were excited to play with them today," Barclay said. "We felt privileged to play with them actually."

On the final hole — No. 9 — the waiting gallery received a glimpse of the show that Tyler and Barclay had been watching all day. Long's approach shot again gave the team a 3-foot putt for birdie, and the Kimbeland member coolly sank the putt.

Jeff Breer ~ jbreer@semissourian.com Janice Hoffman, left, and Vicki Long teamed to win the Lassies Classic by seven strokes Thursday.

"They were really picking each other up today," Tyler said. "If one was off on their shot, the other one came right behind and picked them up. It was magic for them today. It was just wonderful to watch."

After falling well behind, the pair became rooters for Hoffman and Long.

"We just wanted to see them do as well as they could, and they did," Barclay said. "I think it was meant to be."

After losing a couple times in close decisions, the pair left no doubt of the outcome.

Kathleen Robinson putted on the fourth hole during the second round of the Lassies Classic.

"I feel good about playing the way we did," Hoffman said. "We proved we could go out and do it. It wasn't like we went out there and played a mediocre game and won it. We did play golf today."

Hoffman and Long have been playing in the Lassies Classic since 1990, and have proven to be a good match in game and personality. That is once they figured out one another.

"She's a serious golfer, and I'm not," Hoffman said.

Hoffman is a member of Hidden Trails Country Club in Dexter, but is far from the country club type. She has a feisty country delivery and speaks in a voice that can be heard the next fairway over. It was Hoffman who literally found herself up a tree after her team lost a late lead and playoff — and a bet in the process — with Myers and Fowler in 2006.

JoAnn Taylor chipped onto the 11th green Thursday during the second round of the Lassies Classic.

Long, a tad more reserved and along the lines of traditional golf, said she originally didn't know how to take her new playing partner when she got yelled at.

"If I did something wrong, she'd say, 'I'm going to kill you.'" Long said with a laugh.

They're now sparring partners as much as golf partners.

"I wasn't used to getting hollered at," Long said. "And I was like, 'OK.' Finally, one year I just gave it back to her, and some people said, 'Are you guys sisters?' And I said, 'Do we look alike? No we're not sisters. I just learned I had to talk back to her."

AARON EISENHAUER ~ aeisenhauer@semissourian.com Kathy Raines tees off on the fifth hole during the second round of the Lassie's Classic on Thursday, July 17, 2008 at the Cape Girardeau Country Club.

The pair figured it out in 1993, when they posted their best round at 12-under to win the title. They won again in 1997.

They also had it figured out this year. Their first-day card contained the team's only bogey, and they started the second day with a run of three birdies, sparked by a 10-foot putt by Hoffman on the first hole. The team added two more birdies on their first nine, including a 4-foot putt by Long after Hoffman nearly holed her tee shot on the 150-yard par-3 16th, which would have yielded a $5,000 bonus from the hole's sponsor.

The ball was on a straight path to the hole, but ran out of steam.

"She was already figuring out what she was going to do with the money," Long said.

Reba Mell threw up her hands and club after driving the ball into the sand Thursday during the second round of the Lassies Classic at the Cape Girardeau Country Club.

"I was quitting golf," Hoffman joked. "I wasn't even finishing the tournament. Vicki was going to have to finish."

With a five-shot buffer over their closest pursuers with six holes remaining, Long made consecutive par-saving putts — the latter from 12 feet on No. 5, which set up the sizzling finish.