Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 29, 1994 TAG: 9407290086
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
If Dot Bolling gets her way, a loose monkey will run the grounds of Roanoke Country Club this afternoon.
``I just want to dump him off my back and leave him there to die,'' Bolling quipped on Thursday.
The city's animal protection bunch shouldn't panic. Bolling's monkey isn't real. It's just the King Kong-sized weight of never having won a Roanoke Valley Golf Hall of Fame women's title riding her shoulders .
``Everybody knows how badly I want to win this tournament,'' she said. ``I've won most everything else but this one. This is my chance. I'll never get a better chance than this to win this golf tournament.''
Riding a hot putter, Bolling fired a career-best 1-over-par 72 at Countryside to take a commanding four-shot lead over favored Lee Shirley and 1984 winner Kathy Dodd.
``If I putt like I did today, I should be in good shape,'' said Bolling, who enjoyed seven one-putt greens, including back-to-back 10-footers for birdie-birdie-par on the final three holes.
``She made everything she looked at, no mercy,'' said Marilyn Bussey, Bolling's playing partner. ``It was unbelievable. If she putts like that again [today], it's over ... nobody has a chance.''
Bolling, 48, steered clear of such words, saying ``four shots is nothing.''
Not to mention this is the Hall of Fame, her longtime personal horror chamber.
``I've been second twice and close so many other times,'' said Bolling, a four-time winner of the women's other local major - the City-County.
``Right now, I just want to go out and get it over and done with. It's not going to be easy. I've got some good players right behind me.''
Shirley, 18, who qualified on Tuesday in Maryland for the upcoming U.S. Women's Amateur, had to play the final eight holes in even par to shoot 76.
Dodd, playing well again after a two-year hiatus, had 11 pars and five bogeys en route to a 76 that sparked Countryside to a four-shot lead on defending champion Hidden Valley in the team competition.
Besides Bolling, the rest of the day's big news was supplied by Ned Baber and Ray Harrell.
Baber, who shot a record 68 at Water's Edge in last month's men's Hall of Fame, broke another scoring mark, shooting a 4-under 31 on the back side - a nine-hole low for the 55-and-over division.
Trouble was, Baber had 41 on the front, which included a triple-bogey-7 on the first hole. Nevertheless, his 1-over 72 was good enough for a two-shot lead on Dave Snyder and Dan Keffer.
``I was sort of discombobulated starting off, knocking the ball out of bounds on my first shot on No.1,'' Baber said. ``I didn't hit a good shot until No.8. I then started to feeling better and made a bunch of putts coming home.''
Baber, 57, birdied Nos.10, 11, 15 and 17 with putts totaling 80 feet in length. He canned a 15-footer at 16 for par.
Baber's back nine enabled Roanoke Country Club to hang within one shot of defending champion Blue Hills in the team race.
In Junior play, Ray Harrell of Salem had even par for 15 holes before bogeying Nos.16 and 17 to finish at 73. The younger brother of 1991 champion Adam Harrell has a one-shot lead on Brian Agee, who rescued a front-side 42 with a 32 on the back.
``I didn't expect to play this well because I was terrible at the Waterfront earlier this week,'' said Harrell, who never has finished better than third in a local junior event.
``I shot 90 down there, so this is sort of surprising.''
Dustin Rhodes and Tommy Lesperance are two back at 75. Chris Turner and Jason Orlando shot 76.
Led by Agee and Orlando, defending champion Countryside leads the team competition by two shots over Hanging Rock. Blue Hills is third, eight shots back.
by CNB