Rachel Cassidy highest-placed finisher from Europe

Tournament chairman Carol Semple Thompson, the 2008 US Curtis Cup team captain, with Kyle Roig (left) and Alexis Thompson (right) after the Harder Hall Women's Invitational prizegiving.

KYLE ROIG BEATS ALEXIS THOMPSON IN HARDER

HALL PLAY-OFF IN NEAR-FREEZING FLORIDA

NEWS RELEASE FROM HARDER HALL COUNTRY CLUB, SEBRING, FLORIDA

With temperatures near freezing and a constant rain falling, the Harder Hall Women's Invitational Championship turned into a real example of endurance.

Despite conditions, the leaders played great golf. At the turn in Saturday's final round, Alexis Thompson had vaulted into the lead at one under par with Candace Schepperle and Taylore Karle one stroke back. Dolores White and Courtney Ellenbogan were two strokes back.
Not giving an inch to the frigid conditions, Taylore Karle shed her shoes to hit out of the hazard on 17 to save par.

Kyle Roig, 16, gave a late-round charge just leaving an eagle putt on the lip to trail by one going into the final hole. Candace Schepperle birdied 17 also but could not catch the junior, 14-year-old Alexis Thompson, who also birdied 17 to go one under par.
But Thompson ran into trouble on 18 by landing in the bunker and flying the ball over the green on her third shot. Thompson recovered with a close chip, ending with a bogey to finish on even par 288, leaving the door open for the final foursome.

Roig parred 18 for 288, forcing sudden death play-off with young Thompson. Roig then birdied the first play-off hole from 18ft to claim the 55th Harder Hall Championship.

ADDITIONAL WORDS BY COLIN FARQUHARSON
Rachel Cassidy, pictured above right, from The Island Golf Club, Dublin, a student at Stirling University, was the highest-placed finisher from Europe in 20th spot overall, a highly creditable position in a quality field.

Rachel closed out on 304, three shots ahead of English girls champion Holly Clyburn (Woodhall Spa), a member of the GB&I Curtis Cup prelim squad from Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, with Majora-based Scot Lauren Mackin, a member at Ranfurly Castle, third-best of the Europeans on 308. Holly Clyburn finished joint 23rd and Lauren, in her best ever performance at this level, came joint 27th.

Scottish Under-21 champion for the past two years, Kelsey MacDonald (Stirling Univ & Nairn Dunbar) filled joint 32nd place on 312, one shot ahead of another member of the GB&I Curtis Cup prelim squad, US-based Stephanie Meadow (Hilton Head Island Academy & Royal Portrush) in joint 36th place.

Welsh cap and former Welsh girls champion Lucy Gould, still a student at East Tennessee State University, finished in 50th position on 324.

It was so cold for the last day that 20 players withdrew rather than go out in the chilly conditions for the final round.

+Scroll down for Beth Ann Baldy's report from the GolfWeek.com website.

ALL THE FINAL TOTALS

Par 288 (4x72) 6,111yd
Kyle Roig (Pembrook Pines, Florida) 70 71 72 75 288 (won sudden death play-off at first hole).

Alexis Thompson (Coral Springs, Florida 71 69 74 74 288
Candace Schepperle (Birmingham, Alabama) 72 69 72 76 289

Taylore Karle (Scottsdale, Arizona) 70 71 75 74 290

Courtney Ellenbogen (Blacksburg, Virginia) 73 68 73 77 291

Jackie Chang (Paradise Valley, Arizona) 76 66 73 77 292

Cydney Clanton (Rockwell, North Carolina) 73 74 71 76 294

Ani Gulugian (Irvine, California) 75 72 71 76 294

Dolores White (Lakeland, Florida) 70 69 74 82 295

Meghan Stasi (Oakland Park, Florida) 73 67 75 80 295

Michelle Shin (Cape Coral, Florida) 72 74 71 78 295

Isabelle Lendl (Bradenton, Florida) 75 75 70 76 296

Abby Bools (Hickory, North Carolina) 74 72 73 78 297

Calle Nielson (Nashville, Tennessee) 73 70 73 83 299

Amelia Lewis (Jacksonville, Florida) 75 75 73 77 300

Nicole Agnello (Longwood, Florida) 74 77 74 76 301

Ashley Jo Smith (Scottsdale, Arizona) 78 75 71 78 302

Whitney Neuhauser (Barboursville, Virginia) 76 73 78 76 303
Dawn Woodard (Greer, South Carolina) 72 71 80 80 303
Rachel Cassidy (Stirling Univ & The Island, Dublin) 78 74 73 79 304

Haley Wilson (Fort Mitchell, Alabama) 74 74 76 81 305

Brittany Benvenuto (Langhorne, Pennsylvania) 73 76 74 83 306

Holly Clyburn (Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire & Woodhall Spa) 72 76 79 80 307

Emma Lavy (Fayetteville, Arizona) 77 73 74 83 307

Lauren Mackin (San Augustin, Spain & Ranfurly Castle) 74 78 78 78 308

Aimee Neff (Carmel, Indiana) 75 78 77 78 308

Mary Mattson (Ijamsville, Maryland) 76 71 82 81 310

Paloma Nunez (Granbury, Texas) 76 73 83 79 311

Elizabeth Alger (Tequesta, Florida) 81 72 79 80 312

Stephanie Meadow (Hilton Head Island & Royal Portrush) 73 79 82 79 313

Jordan Allyne (Bellevue, Washington) 79 74 81 80 314

Ashley Lance (Franklin, Tennessee) 77 75 81 82 315

Megan Grehan (Mamaroneck, New York) 73 79 79 84 315

Nicole Quinn (Windermere, Florida) 79 73 85 80 317

Jaye Marie Green (Boca Raton, Florida) 80 73 74 withdrew

Joy Kim (Charlotteseville, Virginia) 76 75 76 withdrew

First Flight

Alexandra Bodemann (Palm City, Florida) 76 78 77 76 307
Kristen Simpson (Norfolk, Virginia) 78 77 72 80 307

Sarah Thead (Poway, California) 79 76 74 81 310

Kelsey MacDonald (Stirling Univ & Nairn Dunbar) 78 77 77 80 312

Karlin Beck (Pike Road, Alabama) 80 78 75 79 312

Carlie Yadloczky (Casselbury, Florida) 79 76 80 77 312

Martha Leach (Hebron, Kentucky) 82 74 74 83 313

Betsie Johnson (Nicholasville, Kentucky) 81 77 74 85 317

Daniela Lendl (Bradenton, Florida) 84 76 79 79 318

Melanie Audette (Lakeland, Florida) 79 79 79 82 319

Nora Lucas (Glenview, Illinois) 76 79 81 84 320

Marina Karamanis (Barrington, Illinois) 82 79 77 90 328

Jacqueline Calamaro (Newtown Square, Pennsylvania) 83 78 85 88 334

Jaclyn Sweeney (Andover, Massachusetts) 78 76 69 withdrew

Wendi Golden (Bradenton, Florida) 78 75 78 withdrew.

Jan Bowers (Lincoln, Illinois) 78 78 75 withdrew.

Mary Jane Hiestand (Naples, Florida) 82 77 75 withdrew.

Vanessa Vela (Weston, Florida) 78 76 81 withdrew
Gennifer Mendez (North Port, Florida) 79 78 80 withdrew.

Cassie Boles (Lakeland, Florida) 81 77 84 withdrew.

Second Flight

Courtney Harter (Clearwater, Florida) 81 80 79 78 318

Emily Flanigan (Celebration, Florida) 80 81 76 82 319

Carly Truitt (Marysville, Ohio) 83 80 76 80 319

Meredith Swanson (Roanoke, Virginia) 86 78 80 79 323
Lucy Gould (East Tennessee State Univ & Bargoed, Wales) 83 79 78 84 324
Elizabeth Brightwell (Nellysford, Virginia) 81 84 75 90 330
Harriet Beasley (Stirling Univ & Woburn) 86 78 91 78 333

Mayura Skowronski (Jersey City, New Jersey) 80 89 80 86 335

Sara Hemingway (Kingwood, Texas) 83 83 84 85 335

Eilidh Mackay (Stirling Univ & Nairn Dunbar) 88 81 82 84 335

Maggie Weder (Greenville, North Carolina) 83 82 90 81 336

Rebecca Wilson (Stirling Univ & Monifieth) 81 86 88 81 336

Evelyn Byrd Blackmon (Nashville, Tennessee) 83 86 87 91 347

Barbara Pagana (Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania) 83 81 83 withdrew

Lin McMillan (Ormond Beach, Florida) 83 80 81 withdrew

Cynthia Friend (Lexington, Massachusetts) 84 80 83 withdrew

Third flight
Kelly Fuchik (Tulsa, Oklahoma) 83 89 78 78 328
Judy Dwyer (Allentown, Pennsylvania) 87 83 82 90 342

Dianne Yelovich (Pinehurst, North Carolina) 89 81 86 86 342

Jordana Graham (Stirling Univ & Southerness) 84 86 86 87 343

DeAnne Stolarik (Zion, Illinois) 85 90 81 88 344

Laura Carson (Lake Bluff, Illinois) 88 87 85 87 347

Elizabeth Breza (St Augustine, Florida) 87 87 87 88 349

Courtney Myhrum (Pittsburg, Pennsylvania) 93 83 86 92 354

Jean Mowry (Hot Springs Village, Arizona) 90 86 82 100 358

Angela Stewart (Greenville, North Carolina) 88 85 85 withdrew

Elizabeth Haines (Gladwyne, Pennsylvania) 86 88 86 withdrew

Rachel Carpenter (Fayetteville, Arizona) 82 89 82 withdrew

Fourth Flight
Clate Aydlett (Elizabeth City, North Carolina) 89 89 87 97 362

Jo Glenn (Tulsa, Oklahoma) 90 86 92 102 370

Ali Wakefield (Fayetteville, New York) 98 96 95 87 376

Amy Michelle (Levin, Washington DC) 94 99 96 96 385

Karen Smith (Chestertown, Maryland) 95 94 97 101 387
Colleen Adams (Presto, Pennsylvania) 90 88 89 withdrew

Sue Colton (Port St Lucie, Florida) 86 90 96 withdrew

Marci Likens (Winter Springs, Florida) 95 98 102 withdrew

Tovie St Louis (West Palm Beach, Florida) 76 disqualified

Erin Fitzpatrick (Wauchula, Florida) 80 83 withdrew

Alex Stewart (Carson City, Nevada) 76 withdrew.

Sunny Florida? It was as cold as Britain without the snow

FROM THE GOLFWEEK.COM WEBSITE

By Beth Ann Baldry
SEBRING, Florida – Kyle Roig dropped an 18-foot birdie putt on the first play-off hole to put the 55th Harder Hall Invitational out of its misery.
The weather in so-called sunny Florida was so wretched, this reporter’s car temperature gauge simply read “Ice” at day’s end.
Jay Marie Green, a native of Boca Raton, Fla., pulled out after nine holes Jan. 9 because her frozen, swollen hands caused so much pain. The first two rounds of the Harder Hall were delayed due to frost-covered fairways. On Saturday, the temperature hovered around freezing all afternoon, with wind and rain making it almost unbearable.
Players battled freezing temperatures and cold rain Saturday during the final round of the Harder Hall Women's Invitational. Kyle Roig walked away with the victory after beating Alexis Thompson on the first hole of a play-off.
Yet after 72 holes, two South Florida teens were knotted atop the leaderboard at even-par 72. Sixteen-year-old Roig (75) squared off against good friend Alexis Thompson, 14, who carded the day’s lowest round of 74. The pair grew up practising together after Roig moved from her native Puerto Rico.
“When (Alexis) hit 12 she started winning everything and now everyone knows her,” Roig said. “I knew I had to make a birdie putt to win.”
Roig thought she’d be in Buenos Aires, Argentina, this week representing Puerto Rico in the Copa de las Americas. Financial constraints, however, kept Puerto Rico from sending a team, so Roig contacted Harder Hall chairwoman Carol Semple Thompson two days before the event to see if she could get on a waiting list. She opened with a 2-under 70 and never looked back.
“It was just like a replay,” said Thompson, who remembers clearly when Roig chipped in for eagle several years ago to keep her from qualifying for the Westfield Junior.
Thompson, Golfweek’s No. 1 amateur and junior, is in the midst of a five-week stretch, going 1-2-2 the first three weeks. The hottest player in the field, Thompson was the only player under par through nine holes.
Roig called a penalty on herself on the par-5 sixth hole when she accidentally moved the ball a half-inch with her putter.
“Nobody saw it but I had to call it,” said Roig, who had a 10-footer for birdie. Instead she made bogey, and proceeded to bogey Nos. 8-9 as well.
“I couldn’t feel my hands,” she said.
Roig managed to stay within one shot of Thompson for much of the back nine. Thompson, playing in the group ahead of Roig, pulled away on the 17th with a 12-foot birdie putt that paled in comparison to the gutsy shot of Pepperdine’s Taylore Karle.
Taylore Karle ditches her shoes and socks to play a shot out of the water during the chilly final round of the Harder Hall.
Down two strokes to Thompson with two to play, Karle went for the par-5 in two. The fact that her ball found the water hazard didn’t deter Karle from stripping down to her bare feet. She calmly walked into the hazard and splashed her third shot to 10 feet. She missed the putt and ultimately finished fourth.
“The water actually was warmer, but that could just be because my feet were frozen,” Karle said. “After about a minute I knew I had to get out of there.”
As Thompson moved to the last hole, Roig piped her second shot to the par-5 17th, landing pin-high in the second cut of rough. She dropped to the ground when her ball stopped 1 inch short of the hole. The birdie put her within one shot of Thompson.
On the 18th, Thompson’s approach shot hit a tree and then plugged in the greenside bunker. Figuring she had to choose between leaving it in the bunker and thinning it over, Thompson purposefully went long thinking she’d have an easier chip coming back. She made bogey from there to finish even par for the tournament.
Roig, No. 27 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings, found herself in the same bunker on the 18th only her lie was decent. She hit to 3 feet and sunk the putt thinking she’d finished second. It wasn’t until she spotted Thompson in the crowd around 18 that she realized she might have a chance.
“I’m in a play-off,” Thompson told Roig as she left the green.
“With who?” Roig replied.
“You,” Thompson said.
Thompson popped up her tee shot on the first play-off hole and burned the edge with her 25ft birdie attempt. Roig mercifully ended the tournament with a birdie before frostbite or darkness set in.
Roig remembers the look on Thompson’s face when she chipped in at the Westfield qualifier and makes a habit of reminding her old slumber party friend.
Now she has new ammunition to use against Thompson, though it remains a lopsided affair.
“I had to win one because she’s won so many,” Roig said.
Thompson, by the way, went on to become the youngest to win the Westfield at age 12.

THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT THE WINNER

+Kyle Roig is 16 and comes originally from Puerto Rico. She has lived in Puerto Rico and Brazil, and now stays at Pembroke Pines, Florida. She can speak four languages.