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2019 GOLFERS
OF THE YEAR
2019 HIGHLIGHTS
» Won VSGA Senior Women’s Four-Ball with Natalie Easterly for
fourth time.
» Qualified for and made cut at U.S. Senior Women’s Open.
» Advanced to match play at U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Championship.
» Finished second (by one shot in each) in the Canadian Senior Women’s
Amateur and the Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur.
» Finished second by one shot at Senior Eastern Amateur.
» Finished fifth in British Senior Amateur.
» Competed in the Women’s Virginias-Carolinas Matches.
VSGA SENIOR MEN’S GOLFER OF THE YEAR
Dave Pulk
Amy Ellertson
made golf a
primary focus
this year and it
paid off.
HOME CLUB: Two Rivers Country Club
VSGA SENIOR WOMEN’S GOLFER OF THE YEAR
Amy Ellertson
HOME CLUB: Farmington Country Club
WHAT WAS YOUR PERSONAL HIGHLIGHT THIS YEAR?
Playing in the U.S. Senior Open. We played a very tough Pine Needles
course that the USGA had set up in typical (brutal) Open style. I was
paired with eventual winner Helen Alfredsson the first two days and
with past U.S. Women’s Open winners Jane Geddes and Liselotte
Neumann in the third and fourth rounds. Need I say more about
hitting the pairing lottery?
WHAT’S ONE UNIQUE ITEM IN YOUR BAG?
My Scotty Cameron putter which is unique because it is equipped
with a special grip and cut way down to 30 inches. Also, apart from
being unique, it is the most important thing in my bag.
WHAT WAS YOUR PERSONAL HIGHLIGHT THIS YEAR?
Winning my second Senior Open of Virginia in a very tight contest. It
was the first time I had played Independence and the course provided
a good challenge in trying to learn quickly where you need to hit it and
where not to miss it. I did fairly well as I hit a lot of greens and knocked
it close numerous times to secure I think 11 birdies in two days.
As was well documented after the tournament, though, the bogey
I made on the 35th hole was just as important as any birdie. A fur-
ther highlight of note was securing my first double eagle, making a
hole-in-one on the par-4 8th hole at Two Rivers CC. It was during
the semifinals of a big club best-ball event and Jeff Fleishman
and I ended up beating some very good friends 1 up by finishing
eagle-birdie-birdie. It was a great day of golf at the club and a lot of
trash talking made it a fun day for all the guys who stayed around
for the free drinks!
Dave Pulk won his
second Senior Open
of Virginia this year.
WHAT’S A DREAM GOLF DESTINATION FOR YOU?
Pebble Beach, which is my favorite course as well. Pebble Beach
with perfect weather (which rarely happens) would be a dream
destination and dream golfing experience.
WHAT’S ONE TIP YOU RECEIVED IN 2019 THAT REALLY
HELPED YOU SUCCEED?
The thing that helped me succeed this year and propelled me
forward was working less and focusing more on golf. For the last
25 years I have been primarily focused on my work and played in
only a couple events a year to stay competitive. This is the first year
I’ve flipped that around…It is amazing what you can do when you
actually change your focus to your passion. My problem has always
been that I love both work and golf so it is a bit of a tug-of-war, but
golf won out this year and thus the results.
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