Bolger Makes History, Wins Fifth Straight Philadelphia Amateur

July 14, 2003

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -

By Joe Juliano

Inquirer Staff Writer

*Reprinted with permission

Golf served as a refuge this week for Meghan Bolger. Her quest for a record fifth consecutive title in the Philadelphia Women's Match Play Championship served not as pressure, but as a kind of relief.

Bolger, 25, of Tavistock Country Club, kept her date with history yesterday at Manufacturers Golf and Country Club in Oreland. She defeated Laura Ladden, 8 and 6, in the 36-hole final to win the Glenna Collett Vare Trophy and become the first woman in the 106-year history of the event to capture five straight championships.

Considering all she has been through recently, golf was the easy part for Bolger, the head women's golf coach at the University of Mississippi.

On June 6, her boyfriend, Brad Warner, died in Kutztown of an acute seizure related to his epilepsy. The grieving extended from the Bolger household in Voorhees to the Warner family in Los Angeles.

Bolger dedicated her win yesterday to Warner, whom she met seven years ago while both were freshmen at Tulane, and dated for the last two years.

"I last saw him [in late May] when I was here to play in the Griscom Cup," she said. "His death was so sudden and unexpected. It's been difficult but I've had support from everywhere - my university, the girls that I coach, my family and friends, his family and friends. We have all come together and formed a real special bond."

Before heading north to compete in the women's match play, Bolger had to deal with closing on a new home in Oxford, Miss., a process on which she worked right up to the time of her flight last Saturday.

"Honestly, golf has helped me more than anything," she said. "It's been tough. I had a tough day Wednesday. I try not to think about [Warner's death], but it's with me every step of the way.

"Golf is such a unique game, and it has helped me being on the golf course. He would want me here because that's where I'm happy."

Yesterday's match showcased the two women who have combined to win the last eight Philadelphia Women's Match Play Championships.

Ladden, 27, of Whitford, who was known as Laura Hammond before she married Philadelphia Country Club assistant pro Mike Ladden last summer, became the third woman to win four straight titles, from 1995 through 1998. Bolger started her streak in 1999, and last year became the fourth.

From a 1-up lead after nine holes, Bolger won the next three to go 4-up. However, at the par-3 13th, Bolger had a lapse of concentration, picking up her ball on the green without marking it, forfeiting the hole to Ladden.

Bolger didn't let the gaffe affect her. She drained a 35-foot birdie putt to win the next hole, and went 5-up with an eagle 3 at No. 16. Ladden won the 17th and 18th with pars to cut the margin to 3-down at lunch.

During the one-hour break, Ladden applied an ice pack to her left shoulder. She said she felt something pull in her shoulder about three weeks ago, and playing a round each day this week made it painful. She took a cortisone injection in the shoulder after her match on Wednesday.

The effect of the injury became obvious in the afternoon. Ladden appeared cautious hitting shots off the turf, and she struck the ball thin a number of times.

Bolger won the first five holes of the afternoon 18, three of them with birdies, to go 8-up. The match ended on the par-5 30th hole, where Bolger pounded a 270-yard drive and won with a birdie.

"It was a little sore," Ladden said of her shoulder. "It was hard to get it out of the rough and I wasn't hitting it as far as usual. I needed to make a lot of adjustments. But Meghan played awesome. You can't compete with birdies, and her length made it really hard for me to catch up once I got down by so much."

Bolger carded nine birdies and an eagle in her 30 holes, oblivious to the pressure of establishing a new record.

"You just know it's going to be a long day," she said. "I'm only 3-up after 18. It could have gone the other way. But I got off to a great start on the second 18. Laura has been playing great. I knew her shoulder was hurting her, but sometimes you just play through the pain."

In her own way, Bolger is certainly accustomed to that.

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The University of Mississippi Athletics

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