' the charging Altieri on the: Page 10 BY NEAL FISHER Sports WRITER Obviously, itisn’tthe LPGA championship or Pebble Beach, but nonetheless,-Ruth Baker earned the right to strut her stuff and walk with the grace of a champion for the next few weeks. That’s because last Tuesday when she walked off the 18th green of the Chiefland Golf and Country Club it was with the title of the Chiefland Women’s Golf Association’s handicap championship. “It was nice to win it,” Baker said. “I played well and my putting got a lot better, but to my good fortune some ‘of the women I played had bad days. I think my game got a lot better, simply because I retired in March from nursing and I have had a lot of time to practice since then.” In doing so, she defeated by a game Betty Altieri by two holes in the finals using the newly minted match play format. Baker quickly put a stranglehold on Altieri as she took a five-hole lead through the first nine greens. Altieri, who reached the finals by navigating her way through the final rounds of the loser bracket, mounted a furious rally on the back nine. She scuttled her way back into the match with winning shots on four consecutive holes, the 13th through the 16th. It tightened Baker’s lead to one hole. But, even with her game not quite as strong as it had been on the front nine, Baker maintained enough of her stroke to withstand seventeenth fairway. ‘She got her ball on the green in two strokes and then two putted to score a birdie, while Altieri netted.a par. The combined score of each golfer itself was close. Baker shot a 46, while Altieri scored a 47 in the front nine, but with match play the winner is determined by who wins the most holes. In order for annual . LEVY COUNTY JOURNAL Altieri to win she would have had to short a lower score. “Altieri played consistent golf for the whole tournament and she needed to do it one more time against Baker in the finals,” Marilee Leonard, the president of the association, said. “She still had a consistent round of golf, but it wasn’t quite as consistent as her previous matches had been. Baker didn’t play quite as well in this match, either, but her play was better than Altieri’s and she made’ the _shots when she had to. Baker is a scrapper and it came through when she had to hold off Altieri.” In claiming championship, compiled a 5-0 record. Along with Altieri, Pat Renaud was the tournament’s most consistent golfer. They faced each other in the losers’ bracket finals. Altieri. was dropped into the loser’s bracket after losing to Renaud in the winners’ bracket semi- finals. While Renaud’s loss to Baker in the winners’ bracket championship set up the finals of the losers’ group. In their rematch, it was Altieri who built a somewhat spacious lead through the first half of their match. After the front nine holes she held a three-hole margin. She increased it to a final tally of four holes on the next fairway. Altieri scored eight pars, including a half dozen on the front nine to put Renaud in the position of having to make some notable shots if she was to benefit from the difference in the golfers’ handicaps. However, even though, she continued to play consistent the Baker golf, there were nospectacular vor “Wilkbetthose peopilesdonating: blood are glad they dids?9 tec! plays ‘Which alldwed Renaud” to make a charge at any time during the match. “They were the two most consistent golfers in this tournament and shot close to their average in this match, but the difference in their handicaps never came into DRIVEWAYS, PONDS, GRADING, = | TRACTOR WORK, ROCK & DIRT... 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With the title, Baker will have her name engraved on , the plaque of tournament championships in the clubhouse and she receives several gifts as well. “The association is a great group of women and to play with them and beat them was fun and a challenge,” i Indians - Baker said. “The next day after I won the title, most of the ladies were already there when we meet for our weekly gathering. “They all acknowledged me as a champion when I walked in, so I gave them a bow. We always have that kind of comraderity and friendship among ourselves, but it still felt good to hear the words.” were minimized and had a lesser impact than in their previous games. Coach Dennis Webber summed up the half as “excellent.” He felt to hold a team to 16 points in a half that had a superior height advantage showed marked improvement and a mental tenacity needed to win consistently. However, facing a team with a distinct height advantage and deeper bench took its toll on the Indians. Ft. White outscored them 30-10 in the second half. Their turnovers came at critical points and led to easy transition baskets for Ft. White as they had trouble handling the ball in a tired state. The Indians lowered their turnover total again. This time it was. 23, but the Indians also less than 25 percentfrom the field again. ’ Ft. White 05-11-14-16-46 Chiefland 13-07-03-07-30 Chiefland: : Points: Galpin-2, Henry-2. L. Jackson-9, Donald-8, Sheffield-6, M. Jackson-3, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2006 The revealing of the plaque with her name engraved on it is scheduled for May. The names on the plaque begin with the years in the mid- °70s. Losers Bracket Final #4 Betty Altieri defeated #8 Pat Renaud Tournament Finals #10 Ruth Baker defeated This was the second time 44 Betty Altieri Baker competed in the annual handicap tournament. -She —_ 2996 Chiefland Women’s was the tournament’s runner- up two years ago. Golf Association’s Annual Handicap Tournament Champion Ruth Baker Continued from page 9 While the Indians entered the Hitchcock Classic in the throes of a seven game losing streak, there is reason for hope. Forward Stephen Davis and Guard/Forward Jairus Wimberly returned this week in time for the Hitchcock classic at Santa Fe - High School in Gainesville. Ryan Sprawling is also close to returning ‘from a knee injury which has kept him on the sidelines throughout the first half of the season. Coach Webber will have a deeper and more talented bench with which to work with. It should help avoid situations like the one they incurred against Ft. White. He is working with the players to increase their defensive intensity in practice, so they will be used to dealing with it in game situations. In his words, since the defensive pressure in games is greater than what they face in practice they aren’t used to it and it leads to turnovers. The coaches need to get the team more acclimated to playing at a higher and tougher level. i Guy eA ss re ee just met ed Allen, each bravely moored a corner. Daryl, the event coordinator, better known as “Fire-ant”, had also shunned the safety of the nearby buildings to rush to our aid. Obviously his nickname didn’t just stem from his red locks, for his face was equally ablaze with the glory of the Lord and a zeal that he just couldn’t conceal. Months worth of his hard work and planning were turning to mud, yet he still donned a smile that threatened to swallow his ears. Even as the world around us grew dark, Fire-ant’s big smile became contagious. The air was violently charged, the big bad wolf was huffing and puffing, but under our collapsed little hut laughter began to abound. The mood within gave wings to the phrase, “Peace in the midst of the storm.” As the wind and the rain began to pound against the very foundations of our faith, I believe each man realized that he had been right to build upon the Solid Rock. I even detected the strong aroma of warriors excited to be counted worthy to suffer for the gospel’s sake. We don’t get too much of that down here in the Bible belt you know. Fire-ant joked. He was referring to the protection those riding it out in the ‘Mobile Blood Bank’ bus were enjoying. Before I realized the greater significance of what I was actually saying I replied, “I guess you could say, ‘They are saved by the blood!’” We all chuckled. We all knew what that meant, because we all - were too. I reckon if we Christians who claim to trust in the blood of Jesus would ponder on it a while we’d all be more apt to stand up and smile in the face of adversity. After all, how can you scare a man or back him down when he realizes to die in the line of duty will only bring him promotion? The blood of Jesus has removed the sting of death for the maturing saint. You simply can’t kill a man who knows he possesses eternal life, especially one who has already died to the things of this world! Brothers and sisters, we are not from here; just passing through, taking up our cross and following our Lord to a higher place. The blood of Jesus has transferred our citizenship to a better Kingdom. But anyway, just the mere thought of that precious blood seemed to anchor my soul. So what if the whole awning blew away with us in it? For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have.a building of God, qn house. not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 Corinthians 5:1. Guy E. Sheffield of Hernando, Miss. is the president of the nonprofit ministry SoulFood. ( Drummond Bank is the only home-owned bank in town. 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