SportsMinnesota teen wins Hamilton golf tourneyBy Brad Cameron/Gate City Sports EditorHAMILTON, Ill. - The decision to travel to the Little People's Golf Championships turned out to be the right one for Molly Noser and her family.
The Nosers had to make travel adjustments due to the floods to get to the Deer Run Golf Course from their home in Rochester, Minn. What is normally a 5 1/2 hour trip turned into 7 1/2 hours, but the trip was worth it. Molly Noser shot the low score both days to win the girls 18-19 age division Wednesday. “At one point we weren't even going to come,” Molly Noser said. “There were hotel cancellations and road transfers. After my parents spent four hours trying to figure it all out, we decided Sunday afternoon to make the trip.” Noser shot an opening round 80 on Tuesday to hold a slight lead. Five other golfers were within three shots when play began on Wednesday. “I wasn't expecting an 80 to be leading the first day,” Noser said. “I felt I played pretty well. It took a while to get used to the course, but I was happy.” Noser figured out the course Wednesday. She shot a one-over-par 73 for her second round and cruised to the win by eight strokes. Noser shot a 37 on the front nine, but pulled away from her competition on the back nine. She finished at even-par over the final nine holes. “I had six birdies, and I don't think I've done that before,” Noser said. “I felt I had confidence in everything - confidence off the tees, confidence in my irons, and I was sinking my putts. It was just fun to play.” Laura Cilek won a one-hole playoff over Catherine Dolan for second place. Both finished with a 161, but Cilek scored a birdie on the playoff hole. “I had the same putt this morning for a birdie and missed it,” Cilek said. Cilek, a resident of Coralville, also had a decision to make about attending the tournament. Flooding of the Iowa River has taken its toll on the residents in the Coralville, Iowa City area. “We almost decided not to come because we didn't want to get stuck on the (Illinois) side of the (Mississippi) river,” Cilek said. “When we were leaving it was kind of hard because they need so much help in Iowa City.” The flood didn't affect Cilek's home, but it did impact a close member of her family. “My grandma got it pretty bad,” Cilek said. “We've been helping her out a lot so I haven't been able to play much lately. I was kind of nervous about playing in this tournament before I came here, but it worked out well. It was fun to get away from it a little while, although it is all coming down to this area.” Cilek was tied for third after an opening round 82 on Tuesday. She shot a final round 79 Wednesday. “I struggled a little bit yesterday with the greens,” Cilek said. “The greens were pretty tough, and they had some tricky pin positions. Today, they were things I could have fixed, but it was a better round than the day before, so I'll take it.” Lindsay Burry, a graduate of Keokuk High School, finished fourth with a 162. Burry began the day tied for third, two shots behind Noser. She remained two strokes behind after the front nine, but Burry lost seven strokes to the eventual winner over the final nine holes. Kristen Hamel finished fifth with a 166. Copyright © 2010 - Daily Gate City
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