Livingston tops Thomson at Ladies Open

Tensions ran high as last Saturday’s annual Kitchen Creek Ladies Open boiled down to playoff between the town’s premiere junior and the town’s saaviest of veterans.
And the vet won.
Fifty-eight year-old Carol Livington beat two-time defending champion Christin Thomson in two holes of sudden death golf to capture her first Open in 13 years.
After each parring #10, Thomson shunted her fairway shot on #9 into the creek and settled for a one stroke penalty. She ended up carding a double-bogey while Livingston bogeyed for the win.
“I got a decent shot onto the green,” said Livingston. “I’m so happy to hit some decent shots under these nerves. They can do all sorts of silly things.”
“I gave myself a downhill lie and a difficult shot. I just hit a bad shot,” said Thomson,18.
Both golfers shot a 10-over 84 for the regulation 18 holes to force the playoff. Thomson said it could have been prevented if she had only played stronger during the last couple of holes.
“I took a seven on [par three] #16 which was kind of a big mistake,” said the team Manitoba junior. “Otherwise I could have held onto the round.”
Each golfer bogeyed and parred holes #17 and #18. Livingston shot 42 on both nines while Thomson’s #16 quadruple bogey left her with a 44 on the back nine.
Livingston’s last win was in 1988. She was a usual runner-up to perennial Ladies Open champion Joan Richardson. She last played a sudden death playoff in 1997, losing to Eadie Stevenson.
Thomson had an easier time winning the previous two Opens. Last year, she held a four-shot cushion over Sylvie Cochrane and a three-shot win over Richardson in 1999. She will be competing at an American Junior Golf Association “Futurelinks” event in Whistler, B.C. this week.
Donna Lee was third overall in the first flight with an 18-over 91 followed by Cindy Stoeckman at 92.
Mary Ducharme won the second flight with a 92 while Sharon Payne (95), Barb Asplund (104), and Sandra Gosselin (104) each took the top position in their third, fourth, and fifth flights respectively.
The field was smaller than the usual 60-golfer turnout as only 40 had a club in hand for the 9 a.m. shotgun start.