Carrington wins on a familiar course

By Dale Woodard on July 23, 2021.

The Lethbridge Country Club might as well have been home course advantage for Kim Carrington.

The coulees, the narrow fairways and even the patented Lethbridge wind? All familiar.

The golfer from the Cottonwood Golf & Country Club in Calgary also turned her surroundings into something equally familiar courtesy of her fifth Alberta Senior Ladies Championship title.

Playing in the final group along with Celina Lam of the Woodside Golf Club and Barb Flaman from the Windermere Golf and Country Club, Carrington shot a final round 76 for a three-day total 226 to take home the 2021 title.

Lam shot a third-round 78 after opening rounds of 77 and 74 to take second place with a tally of 229 and Flaman (76, 78, 78) finished the three-day event at 232 place third.

As the wind picked up down the back nine, Carrington knew what she had to do in the familiar surroundings.

“I’ve come down here every year for 25-plus years to play in the Ladies Lethbridge Open,” she said. “So I know the course. I probably play it more than my own. I haven’t won the Ladies Lethbridge Open, so it feels cool to say ‘Hey, I’ve got it.'”

Carrington started the final round with three consecutive bogeys before carding a birdie on the fifth hole and completing the front nine at 40.

She dialled it in on the back nine, parring each hole for an even 36.

“I wanted to go out there today and just think about being consistent,” said Carrington.

“The first two days (was) 75 and 75 and I ended up with 76 today, so I was thrilled with that, especially with the Lethbridge wind that popped up today. As we know, the back nine in the coulees is pretty crazy when the wind picks up. So I was just trying to be as consistent as possible. I was trying to play the course, not anybody else.”

The Lethbridge wind makes the golfer consider their yardage, said Carrington.

“Then you have to think about the wind and where that wind is positioning the ball. So you want to make sure your end target with the wind is where you want to land the ball. There’s a lot more thinking out there. You’re always thinking. I have a tendency to strike the ball a little bit better in the wind because I have a little more of an aggressive swing, which for me, is good. So I’m OK with the wind down here. It (Thursday) was actually pretty mild compared to a normal Lethbridge wind.”

Carrington compared the Lethbridge Country Club to the Willow Park Golf & Country Club in Calgary.

“Willow Park is very tight and narrow fairways and I’m very much a target golfer,” she said. “If it gets too wide open I have a tendency to flail a bit more. But I’m very precise and I think for here you have to be that, too. There are a lot of skinny holes here and a lot of overhanging tree line, so you have to be pretty precise. I think for me it lends a good eye. I pick high targets. Sometimes I’ll pick the top of the bridge, I’ll take the top of tree lines or the tops of coulees as my target lines, not always the pin. So I have a good eye for the Lethbridge Golf and Country Club.”‘

Lam shot 37 on the front nine thanks to birdies on the third and ninth holes, but bogeyed the first and sixth.

A double bogey on the 17th hole and a bogey on 18 allowed Carrington to pull away.

Flaman had four bogeys on the front nine for 40 at the turn before taking two strokes off on the back nine for a 38 and final round 78.

Lynn Kuehn of the Lacombe Golf & Country Club placed fourth with a three-day total of 233, while Chris Ng of the Priddis Greens Golf & Country Club took fifth (237).

Gail Barros (Edmonton Petroleum Golf & Country Club), Cheryl Newman (Canyon Meadows Golf & Country Club) and Karen Saunders (Inglewood Golf & Curling Club) each shot 241 to tie for sixth.

Susan Plum of Springbanks Links Golf Course shot 242 to place ninth and Joan Wilson of the Country Hills Golf Club rounded out the top-10 at 244.

Cathy Fisher of the Taber Golf Club carded a 247 to place 15th.

The Lethbridge Golf Club’s Doris Hopkins shot 258 to place 20th and Cindy Watson of the Taber Golf Club was one shot behind with 259 to take 21st.

Next up for Carrington is Canadian Nationals in Quebec at the end of August.

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