Barker, Perry capture Ladies Partnership

Posted: Friday, July 17, 2009

Marian Barker three-peated at the 2009 Ladies Partnership at Amarillo Country Club, but she did so with a different partner this year.

After winning this low-ball, low-total format event in 2007 and 2008 with Kriss Ethridge, Barker won this time with Penny Perry as they defeated Laurie Walker and Sue Sisemore, 3 and 2.

It was at least the second or third time Barker and Perry have won the tournament together, but neither one could remember exactly how many.

''I know we've won at least two or three times,'' said Perry, of Snyder. ''Marian has won a lot more times than this, and with different partners.''

Barker, like Perry, hasn't kept track of how many they have won in the past dozen or more years, or for that matter how many different times she has walked away with the top prize.

''I just like coming up here and playing,'' said Barker, who has been the girls golf coach of the Lubbock Independent School District for many years. ''I'm not worried or concerned too much with how many times I've been able to win. I just enjoy the competition.''

Barker and Perry got plenty of that from Walker, the wife of Amarillo High boys golf coach Wade Walker, and Sisemore, long one of the leading players in Amarillo.

Although they never trailed against their opponents, Barker and Perry couldn't quite put this one away until Barker's key par at No. 16 won two points to put them four ahead with four points left.

Walker made her third birdie of the day at 17 by converting a tricky downhill slider from about 15 feet. Barker and Perry each made par, and Sisemore needed to convert a short par putt to extend the match to the 18th hole, but wasn't able to and the match was over.

Barker and Perry won a point at each of the first two holes to take a lead they never relinquished. They added another point at No. 4 and won both points at No. 6 for a five-up advantage.

However, they were unable to extend the lead because Walker made a birdie at No. 8 worth two points, the only par at 10 for another, and when she and Sisemore made par 12 the match was all-square with six holes to go.

''I knew when we were five points ahead after the sixth hole it was a long way from being over,'' Barker said. ''Laurie was playing very well, and she kept the tee box with a par or birdie. When you do that it means the opponents are winning low-ball on the hole quite often.''

The turning point probably came at the par 5 13th, where Barker reached the back of the green in two, chipped within tap-in range and made birdie while the other players made par. It was worth a valuable two points and set the stage for the final four holes.

The teams halved 14 and 15 before Barker won two points at 16 with par to put the pressure squarely on their opponents.

When the match ended, Barker and Walker were each 1-over-par. Perry was 11-over and Sisemore 13-over, meaning there was just two shots actual score between the teams.

''Laurie played great and I struggled a lot,'' Sisemore said. ''I couldn't keep my ball out of the rough and kept making a lot of bogeys.''

Barker said she played her best round of the week, after shooting 8-over 78 in the qualifying round Monday.

''A lot of times I get worse as the week continues,'' she said, ''but not this year. I struggled in the qualifying round but got better every day.''