MONETA - Some hooted and hollered. Some applauded. Others exchanged high-fives.
Do you get the idea that Valeta Pittman's triumph Sunday in the 24th Roanoke Valley Golf Hall of Fame women's championship was a popular one?
"Oh, yeah, everybody likes Valeta," a defeated Marilyn Bussey said. "She's come so close a couple of times. It's nice to see her win. I'm glad she waited till she was a senior. She seems to have come alive with seniorhood."
Pittman, who recently turned 50, appears to be getting better with age. She shot an impressive 76 in the final of the State Women's Senior Stroke Play championship last Tuesday. Oozing with confidence, Pittman fired a day's best 78 at Waterfront to win her first HOF title by four strokes.
"This is the thrill of my golfing career so far," a beaming Pittman said. "It's been a long time coming. With me, it all boiled down to confidence. I think you have to take it in steps, build on it from year to year. And I've been building on it for years, believe me."
Pittman did major construction on the HOF field with back-to-back 78s for a winning total of 13-over-par 156. James Madison University sophomore Meg Davies (78) finished at 160, followed by Botetourt's Debbie Young (79) and Countryside's Bussey (83) at 161. Two-time champion Sara Cole (83) and Waterfront's Teresa Shull tied at 162.
Pittman, who entered the day tied with Bussey, led by two at the turn Sunday and never looked back. The smooth-swinging Roanoke Country Club member certainly looked like a player who had been here and done this before.
"I been working really hard on my game," she said. "I started 27 years ago in Lynchburg with Phil Owenby [former RCC head professional]. He had Donna Andrews [current LPGA Tour pro], too, and she went onto bigger and better things, and I'm still here.
"But I've kept working on it and I've gotten better. I really don't think this is a freak kind of win."
Bussey, a two-time City-County champion looking for her first HOF victory, buried herself with two atrocious holes - a triple bogey-7 at No.5 and a quadruple bogey-8 at No.16.
"Some day I might have a fluke and actually make some pars and win this thing," Bussey groused.
Bussey could take some consolation in the fact that her Countryside squad won the team title by nine shots over four-time defending champion Hidden Valley. It was Countryside's record 12th title.
Davies finished strong despite playing with tendinitis in her left thumb. She took a cortisone shot earlier in the week in order to play through the pain.
"Hopefully, this will clear up soon," Davies said. "I don't want to stop playing too long, though."
Like the rest, Davies, 19, was happy for Pittman.
"I played with her in my first Hall of Fame and she was so nice to me," Davies said. "She's got the best swing out here. It's so pretty."
As was the rest of Valeta Pittman's day.
Reprinted with permission from The Roanoke Times.
