Carolyn Barnett-Howe Featured in Appleton Post Crescent
Monday, December 13, 2010 at 6:12PM Appleton Pro Wins State Golf Tournament
By Mike Woods, Appleton Post-Crescent
No one fears 40 like golfers. The nerves start to fray, the eyes aren’t as sharp, the muscles are not as durable and often the will not as strong.
Then there’s Appleton’s Carolyn Barnett-Howe, 44 years old and getting better by the day.
“Yeah, I don’t know what it is. I must be a fine wine or something,” said Barnett-Howe, who fired a three-over 74 Thursday and captured her second consecutive Wisconsin Women’s State Open golf championship at Bristlecone Pines Golf Course in Hartford.
“All of a sudden, some lightbulb must have went on, because now I think I can do it.”
After winning the Women’s State Open title last year, Barnett-Howe went on to capture the Women’s National Club Pro Championship over the winter. Thursday, she added her third Women’s State Open title overall with a five-shot victory over Rachel Montaba of Quit-Qui-Oc Golf Course.
“I am old, aren’t I?” Barnett-Howe said. “But I can still hit it long and I’m starting to putt really well, and that makes the game a lot easier. I didn’t make as many birdies the last two days, but I just rolled the ball really well.”
The tournament turned on the par-five 16th when Montaba, trailing by two shots, decided to go for the green in two. But her approach fell short and into the water.
“It was a pretty gutsy move, and actually I’m flattered she went for it, because it meant she didn’t think I was coming back to her,” said Barnett-Howe. “She took a chance and it didn’t work out.”
Shortly after the victory, Barnett-Howe said she received congratulatory calls from several of her high school students, whom she teaches along with her husband, Steve Howe, at Swing Solutions.
“It’s a nice sense of accomplishment,” she said. “With each passing year, I’m older, but I feel better mentally. I’m staying patient and waiting for things to happen. I don’t get as frustrated as I did when I was younger.”
The low round of the day was turned in by Little Chute’s Joellyn Crooks, formerly Erdmann, who played on the LPGA Tour last season. A shoulder injury sidelined her this season, but she came from her home in North Carolina and turned in rounds of 81-72.