Even with a double bogey on the 18th hole, Lisa Kerley knew she had won the Integris Credit Union Ladies Simon Fraser Open title Sunday.
The Williams Lake golfer fired consecutive rounds of 85 and 80 Saturday and Sunday for a two-day total of 165, beating Betty Ann Shiels by four strokes to earn her first Simon Fraser championship at the Prince George Golf and Curling Club.
Shiels, the defending champion and an eight-time Simon winner, carded a two-day total of 169 with a score of 83 on Saturday and 86 on Sunday under warm and sunny conditions.
"Going into today I was two strokes behind Betty Ann and Kit [Collins of Quesnel] and at the turn I was up by one," said Kerley, a 41-year-old ambulatory care registered nurse at Cariboo Memorial Hospital in Williams Lake. "I knew I had to hold it which I did. On No. 18 I played it safe and my ball went behind a tree. I had to punch it out."
With a handicap of eight, Kerley won the low gross, followed by runner-up Shiels.
Collins tallied rounds of 82 on Saturday and 93 on Sunday for a total of 175.
It was Kerley's first time competing in the Simon Fraser tournament. She played a practice round Friday to scope out the course and followed that up with three double bogeys and a triple bogey for a score of 85 on Saturday.
On Sunday, she found herself with Shiels and Collins who teed off in the last group of the day.
"I finally felt comfortable today and I knew I could shoot an 80," said Kerley. "I knew I had to beat Betty Ann to be in the running [for the title] today."
Natasha Kozlowski, who turns 13 on Wednesday, won the overall low net carding a two-round score of 158, factoring in her handicap of 27.
It was a repeat performance by the Grade 8 College Heights secondary student who won the low net in her first trip to the Simon in 2013.
"I went out and did the best I could," she said. "I wasn't nervous this time and I was a bit more relaxed. On Saturday there were a few holes I had trouble with but today [Sunday] I didn't get into too much trouble."
Kozlowski's mom Valerie was the runner-up in the low net, firing a two-day total of 170 that factors in her handicap of 29.
Being the youngest competitor at the two-day event, Natasha said she really appreciated the guidance she received from the rest of the field of 65.
"I want to thank the ladies for letting me play in this tournament," she said. "They made it easy and really fun. It's tough going out there and being the only kid."
Kerley knows she'll have to return in 2015 to defend her title, but that won't be a problem.
"I loved the course," she said. "It's nice to walk."
