Delasin's shot nets win again in shootout

Dorothy Delasin and Jackie Gallagher-Smith bested a field of four other teams.
By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
VIENNA -- Dorothy Delasin won back-to-back Giant Eagle LPGA Classic championships with come-from-behind efforts in 2000 and 2001.
Now, she has won back-to-back Butler Wick Shootout titles with last-shot heroics.
Tuesday, Delasin teamed up with another former Giant Eagle champion, Jackie Gallagher-Smith, and the duo bested a field of four other teams to capture the $4,000 first-place prize.
"It was deja vu all over again," Delasin joked following the victory.
A year ago, Delasin and Tammie Green, the 1994 and 1997 Giant Eagle champion, teamed up to win the Shootout when Delasin knocked a sand bunker shot to within 3 feet of the hole.
This year, after Michele Redman hit her bunker shot on the final hole to within 5 feet, Delasin hit her ball to within 4 feet and gained the title.
Likes them
"These events are so much fun," said Delasin. "Especially here where I've had so much success and the fans are just so great."
The 10 LPGA players who took part in the Shootout, which has been sponsored by Butler Wick since the tournament was reorganized in 1993, put on a tremendous exhibition for the fans.
Of the 28 drives the players hit in the competition, 26 of them were in the fairway and only four players missed hitting the green on their second shots.
Besides the champions, the other teams included Redman and Janice Moodie, who finished second; defending Giant Eagle champion Mi Hyun Kim and Natalie Gulbis, who were third; Danielle Ammaccapane and Beth Bauer, who finished fourth; and Green and Donna Andrews, who finished fifth.
"We kind of ham-and-egged it out there today," said Gallagher-Smith, the 1999 champion here. "It's a lot of fun and we put on a pretty good show."
Her first title
Delasin won her first title at the Avalon Lakes layout. The following year, when the tournament shifted to Squaw Creek Country Club, she successfully defended her title. Last year she finished tied for third.
"I really liked both golf courses," Delasin said. "They both suit my game well. I've been playing pretty well; I've only missed one cut this year and it's always great to get back to a place where you've won before."
Gallagher-Smith also won her title at Avalon Lakes.
"There are a lot of similarities between the two courses, and I liked both of them," she said. "The course is pretty wet right now, but that kind of helps me since I carry the ball a long way."
The Shootout was played on hole Nos. 10 and 18, with one team being eliminated on each hole.
On the first hole Kim and Gulbis made the only birdie after Gulbis put her approach shot less than 3 feet from the hole. The other four teams had a chip-off, and Green and Andrews were eliminated.
Again led way
On the second hole, Kim and Gulbis again led the way as this time Kim knocked her second shot to within 4 feet to make birdie. Redman made the putt of the day from about 35 feet to give her team a birdie, and Gallagher-Smith drained an 18 footer for her team's birdie. Ammaccapane and Bauer were eliminated after missing a long birdie putt.
On the third hole it looked as if Kim and Gulbis were going for their third straight birdie as Gulbis hit it to within 5 feet.
Both of the other teams all missed birdies, and then Kim and Gulbis both missed to set up a long downhill putt-off.
Kim and Gulbis went first and putted their ball within 5 feet. Both of the other teams beat them, setting up the final hole.
Another long one
Delasin, who has been bombing her drives well past the other players, hit another big drive on the No. 18 hole, 150 yards from the pin. Redman had the best drive for her team, about 165 yards out.
Moodie's approach shot was about 12 feet past the hole, while Delasin's shot was about 15 feet right of the pin.
Both Delasin and Gallagher-Smith missed and then Redman barely missed her putt. Finally, Moodie's putt lipped out of the hole, setting up the chip-off and Delasin's heroics.
mollica@vindy.com