By BRENT STUBBS
Senior Sports Reporter
bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
DESPITE the adverse weather conditions that “made it feel like a boxing match,” Georgette Rolle was able to out-distance Raquel Riley by five strokes to secure the Bahamas’ berth in the 2016 Pure Silk Bahamas LPGA Golf Tournament.
At the two-day trial over the weekend hosted by the Bahamas Golf Federation at the Ocean Club on Paradise Island, Rolle shot rounds of 83 and 85 on Saturday and Sunday for a cumulative score of 168 to regain the spot she held two years ago. Riley, the Bahamas representative last year, had to settle as the runner-up with rounds of 85 and 88 for her total of 173. That will allow her to compete in the qualifying round to earn her way into the tournament.
Two other competitors participated, but collegian Taneka Sandiford and teenager Inecia Rolle didn’t fare as well and were out of contention.
Rolle, the teaching professional at the Bahamas Golf Federation’s Driving Range, said she was extremely delighted to be back in the swing of things after relinquishing the spot she held two years ago to Riley last year.
“The golf course was in great shape with winds blowing 20-26 miles per hour, so it was pretty tough,” Rolle said. “Out there, it felt like we were in a boxing match. The conditions were so difficult over the past few days that every shot required extra attention. So I know that we were all trying to gut it out and just finish the lowest. It wasn’t the greatest of play, but we were out there battling it out.”
By virtue of winning the tournament, 29-year-old Rolle will be the face of the Bahamas once again in the Pure Silk Tournament January 25-31 at the Ocean Club. More than 160 of the top female golfers from around the world will be in Paradise to compete in the tournament.
For Rolle, who had the opportunity to compete in 2014 but didn’t advance out of the first round, her strong finishes in holes 14-18 on both days enabled her to win the tournament but Rolle said she’s not going to rest on her laurels because there’s a lot more work to be done over the next month.
“It’s amazing. I was telling my caddy that last year after the trials, having to go though almost 365 days of people asking me ‘what happened,’ or ‘what could you have done better,’ I guess it’s been a long time from then to now, so it feels great that I was able to be physically fit to finish strong,” Rolle said. “I know I haven’t been playing much, but I was hitting the ball pretty well and so I can only hope that knowing that, I would have had a lot of confidence to come out on top. I’m thankful to God that I was able to get to this spot and to be able to represent the Bahamas once again.”
With about a month to go before the tournament gets underway, Rolle said she’s already looking at the things that she need to do to get herself ready. “I’ve been getting stronger body wise, but I could do more to get stronger,” Rolle said. “So I’m definitely going to get with a trainer and so I’m going to try to get stronger and I need to get a putter fitting. I need to work on my putting because it wasn’t so good. I also missed a lot of greens, but that will come with my playing a lot more off the grass. A month more of that and I’m sure I will be fine.”
In the tournament, Rolle said Riley pushed her on each shot on both days and that enabled her to withstand the challenge, even though the weather conditions were conducive to playing the best golf.
“It was good. Even early today (Sunday). I was half-way thinking that even if I don’t get a spot, I knew I gave it my all,” Rolle said. “Raquel and I were playing together and it was a fight. The competition was good.”
Riley, a 34-year-old assistant teaching professional at the Bakers Bay Club in Bakers Bay, Abaco. was hoping to avenge her disappointing exit last year. She played through the first five holes before the rain halted play. When play resumed, Grand Bahama native Riley eventually had to withdraw as a result of a stomach virus. Now for her to get back into the tournament, she will have to play out of the qualifying round on January 25.
Rolle, 30, is the host of the annual Georgette Rolle Junior Camp. She is also an LPGA Teaching and Club Professional Class A member and a graduate assistant coach since 2007 for the men’s and women’s golf teams at Texas Southern.
The two-time champion of the Bahamas National Amateur Championship in 2003 and 2007, was also the National Minority Champion, Women’s Independent Division, in 2007. She started her professional career in 2008 after starting to play the game at the age of seven.
The BGF provided the opportunity for the top four players to qualify for the one spot for the Bahamas directly into the main draw.
Tournament rules official Glenn Archer said the players performed very well under the conditions they were faced with. They had to play in a stroke play format, which comprised of two 18-hole rounds and the lowest gross emerged as the winner.
“It was really tough conditions for them to play in over the last two days,” said Archer, a former president of the Southern Division of the BGF. “It was very windy and that would have affected their scores tremendously. We had some extreme weather conditions over there and the pin placements were rather tough, which further made the tournament difficult to play in.”
Archer commended the players for the manner in which they dealt with the conditions.
“It was a tester for them and so I have to commend them for sticking it out and persevering,” Archer said. “The first day was very windy, but the conditions on the second day was even worse.”
The Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic brings about 120 golfers from around the wold to Paradise to compete for a purse of $1.3 million, plus a full allocation of points in the Race to the CME Globe season-long competition. The winner receives $195,000 and 500 CME Globe points.
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