SMITHFIELD — There were no extra holes needed this year to decide the Birch Creek Ladies Club Championship. Tammy Gustaveson made it three titles in a row Thursday as she put together two solid rounds. The first 18 holes took place last week with the second and final 18 being played on a beautiful morning at Birch Creek on Thursday.
“I felt good both days we played,” said Gustaveson, who was also one of the top players at the Logan River Ladies Championship. “..
. I like Birch because it is more open and you can just really swing away. At the River, for me, it’s more of a target game.
” Consistency was the key. Gustaveson followed up an 80 from the first round with an 81 on Thursday. Her two-day total of 161 was 11 shots better than Teresa Lundahl (172).
Those two ladies tied a year ago and needed two sudden-death playoff holes to decide the champion. Just like in 2023, Gustaveson took a lead into the second round. She was up six strokes over Lundahl and eight on Mandy Haynie, who ended up third at 175.
But like the Gustaveson, the other ladies scored right around what they did in the first round. “I knew Teresa was six strokes behind and Mandy was eight and Dawn (Drost) was 12, so I figured if I could just play like I did last week that I would have a chance,” Gustaveson said. “I felt really good about coming into today’s game.
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But you never know because these ladies can improve by 10 strokes in a round, so you never know until everyone is in.” That h.