Penn wins Lady Blue Hen Invitational at RBCC

The Quakers of the University of Pennsylvania had an easy time of it at Rehoboth Beach Country Club Oct. 20, with the women’s golf squad winning the team title at the seventh annual Blue Hen Invitational. Their 864 total was 29 strokes ahead of second place Seton Hall. Susan Xiao of Penn also won medalist honors with a fine seven-under par performance in the 54-hole tournament, nine shots ahead of teammate Rina Jung. 

The host Lady Blue Hens finished a respectable fifth in the team contest, highlighted by Arian Klotz’s ninth-place individual score of seven-over par.

Among individual golfers, Nattavadee (Baipor) Khunshi of Delaware State had a great 36-hole start (75-75) in Saturday’s dry, sunny conditions. The bad weather on Sunday didn’t help, however, as her 89 in the final round dropped her back to a tie for 48th. The new golfer for the Hornets had just won first place in the UMES Invitational at Ocean City Golf Club Oct. 15-16. 

DSU head coach Rick McCall Jr. was happy for the opportunity for Khunshi to test herself against some stiff Division I competition. His recruitment work for next year’s team should result in a full complement of eight to nine golfers. McCall expressed confidence that the new additions will join Khunshi in making the Hornets an improving, competitive presence in college women’s golf.

Congratulations to Morgan Frazier of the U.S. Naval Academy for her hole in one on the 130-yard par 3 13th hole at Rehoboth Beach CC Oct. 18. The senior midshipman used a knock-down eight iron for the shot. Navy coach Nadia Set-Marie said all of Frazier’s teammates were at the tee to see the special shot during the practice round before the weekend’s Blue Hen Invitational.

Rookery club champions

The Rookery held its club championship Oct. 19-20, using the South course Saturday and the front nine of the North course during Sunday’s rain. 

Tim Gallagher won the men’s championship, while Sue Bardsley was the ladies’ champion. Sonyua Dilworth won the women’s senior contest, while Mike Poulis won the men’s senior. Scott Hermansader won low net for the men, and Sue Scaglione was low net for the women.

Under Armour Sunglasses

I have used several kinds of sunglasses. Some, such as my Ray Ban Aviators, are great when out on the water. The polarized lenses cut through glare and help achieve minor boating goals such as not running aground.

However, polarized lenses don’t help as much when playing golf. Several companies now offer lenses that can help find lost balls in the rough, or help with trying to read a multi-colored green, a common challenge on Cape Region courses.

Under Armour offers sport-specific sunglasses, including some designed for golf, as well as a new kind of eyewear for use after the round.

Marketing coordinator Dylan Coates greeted me at the UA booth at the 2019 PGA Merchandise Show to fill me in on the details.

The UA Propel Satin Black model is “tuned for golf,” he said. The base tint is rose, and there is an additional blue semi-reflective coating. Coates said the combination makes it easy to distinguish different kinds of green – certainly handy while playing golf. This model also comes with UA Storm, a hydro/oleo-phobic coating to repel water, dirt, and oil. The wraparound lenses also help keep the wind away. The Propel retails for $99.99.

Coates then showed me a pair of UA Pulse Tuned Recovery sunglasses, which retail for $125. The black rectangular frames look like a modern take on the glasses seen in 1960s-era James Bond movies.

The idea of wearing Recovery lenses after daytime outdoor activity was previously unknown to me. According to Coates and Under Armour, the blue tint helps the eyes recover from the stress of too much light. The promotion materials claim that these lenses are “scientifically engineered to calm the mind and body,” whether worn for five minutes or 60. 

Looks like I’ll have to find some more storage space in my car’s glove compartment.

Dolly Parton makes a rare appearance

Golfers have a wide variety of names for what happens out on the golf course. 

Some are pretty obvious, such as an Arnold Palmer. That’s when a player makes par despite missing both the fairway and the green in regulation. A stunning percentage of my own pars are of this type.

If you enjoy ridiculing dead evil dictators, you might find yourself calling out a Hitler. That’s the name annoyed golfers sometimes invoke when taking two shots in a bunker.

In the recent club championship at The Rookery, we came up with a new term to describe a highly unusual string of scores. 

One of my playing companions had more than a bit of trouble on the par 5 13th hole, fumbling to a quadruple bogey score of nine. 

However, he bounced back beautifully on the long par 3 14th, using an actual wood fairway club to land his ball inside 3 feet. He made his birdie for a two.

Unfortunately, his drive on the 15th hole, a short par 3, quailed off to the right and deep into the pond. He recovered his composure, hit his third shot to the green, and two-putted from there for a five.

Naturally, this three-hole experience made us think of Dolly Parton, because she had a huge hit song while also starring in the movie of the same name: Nine Two Five.

We each find our fun our own way. Don’t judge.