After putting in for bogey on the 18th hole Friday to conclude the Colorado Women’s Open at Green Valley Ranch, Whitney Wade didn’t know she had just won the tournament. Less than five minutes later, however, she had already devised celebration plans.
“I’m going to pay off part of my car and go shopping, probably take my mom and me shopping,” the 23-year-old Kentucky native said.
Wade took a three-shot lead into the final holes of the three-day tournament and finished at 3-under-par 213. She shot 72 Wednesday and Friday, plus a second-round low of 69 Thursday, to finish one stroke ahead of Kendall Dye of Edmond, Okla.
Margaret Shirley of Roswell, Ga., and amateur Alison Whitaker of Melbourne, Australia, tied for third, two shots back. Greeley’s Kelly Schaub had the top local finish, tied for fifth at 218.
Wade, from Glasgow, Ky., didn’t know she had won until after she stepped out of the scorer’s tent to turn in her scorecard.
“Is it official?” she said outside the tent. “Everyone came up and said, ‘Congratulations,’ so I was like, ‘OK.’ I didn’t know. I really didn’t. But if it’s true, I’m really excited.
“After nine holes I knew it was tight, with three or four people at under. I knew I had to get it together and finish strong.”
She birdied No. 16 with a long putt to go 4-under and break a tie with Shirley, who bogeyed Nos. 15 and 17 a couple of groups ahead. Wade got a good break on her birdie putt at No. 16, which gave her room to bogey No. 18.
“The ball hit the hole, and it was going quite fast,” she said. “I felt good at that point with two holes left.”
Wade, who collected $11,000 for the victory, was visiting Colorado for the first time.
“Beautiful state,” she said. “Course is good; it’s set up well for me. But the greens are really big. I knew if I didn’t have many three-putts, then I’d be OK. I think I only had three the whole tournament, and I had some putts fall. I’m happy.”
Shirley, 23, started strong but struggled at the end.
“Up and down,” she said. “I was 3-under through four holes, had a couple bogeys, but was 2-under after nine and then two bogeys on the back nine. I just could not get a putt to drop. I had some good putts that I thought would go in, but they didn’t. But I can’t complain. I was right there until the end, and that’s all you can ask for.”
Whitaker had mixed feelings about finishing as the low amateur.
“The thing I was after was the big trophy, so low amateur is a bit of a consolation prize,” she said. “Having said that, anytime you can put yourself in position to win a pro tournament as an amateur, you’ve done your job.”
Mike Chambers: 303-954-1357 or mchambers@denverpost.com
