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Consecutive wins for Shears

BELPRE -The putter giveth and the putter taketh away.

Playing even-par golf for her first 16 holes during Friday’s Mid-Ohio Valley Junior Golf Association stop at Oxbow Golf and Country Club, Adeena Shears ran into a snafu and three-putted on the 18th hole. On her final hole of the afternoon at No. 1, her drive landed in a fairway bunker.

Despite the back-to-back bogeys, Shears closed out her round at 2-over par 73 and produced a winning margin of 13 strokes in the 13-15 age division. The previous day at North Bend Golf Course in Harrisville, the sophomore from Parkersburg South shot a 72 and defeated runner-up Isaac Prine of Rockport by one stroke.

“I putted well out there today,” Shears said. “I didn’t really have any long putts – they were mainly short putts 7 feet and closer. My long game was not very good, but my short game kind of saved me.”

Shears’ only birdie occurred on the par 5, 14th hole. Her second shot landed on the green 30 feet from the pin. Her lag putt left her 5 feet from the cup, which she converted.

Yesterday’s victory was just a sample of what Shears has accomplished on the links this summer. In June, she joined a women’s team from Parkersburg Country Club which successfully defended its title at the West Virginia intra-state team matches, which was conducted at Cress Creek Country Club in Shepherdstown.

“That was very exciting,” Shears said. “I know I didn’t play my best, but my team helped me out. We all played well on different holes, so that helped our overall score.

“I birdied a few holes, but I also had some quadruple bogeys.”

The best round of the day was turned in by Belpre junior Sam Petty at 1-over 72. Petty also birdied the 14th hole and avoided anything worse than a bogey.

Petty won the 16-18 age division by two strokes over runner-up Steve Farley of Fleming.

“I didn’t drive the ball too badly – I hit my iron shots well and putter well, obviously,” Petty said. “My game has been consistent this summer. I haven’t shot too many scores in the 80’s this year.

“There is still a lot of room for improvement. I would like to get a round under par at one of these things.”

Plagued by erratic finishes the past couple of rounds, Petty kept his composure at Oxbow Golf and Country Club and closed out with pars for his final four holes.

At the 505-yard, 14th hole, Petty sent his tee shot near the trees on the right side of the fairway. He punched out to within 150 yards then used an 8-iron to put his approach shot to within 3 feet.

“I knew it wasn’t going in because it hit right of the hole,” Petty said. “It hit long and spun back because the greens were soft.”

Farley, who will enroll for his freshman year this fall at Methodist University in Fayetteville, N.C., made a push with a birdie ‘2’ on the 13th hole.

“The hole was playing 135 yards and I used a pitching wedge – I hit it real solid and stuck it about a foot and a half away,” Farley said. “I could tell I was right of the pin.”

Only four strokes separated the top four placewinners in the 16-18 age group. Coleman Lamp took third at 75, while Garrett Bertram followed in fourth place at 76.

Of the five golfers who competed in the 12-and-under age group, Wes Jenkins carded a 64 over nine holes to win first place.

The MOVJGA concludes next week with stops at South Hills Golf Course on Tuesday and Woodridge Golf Club on Friday.

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