WARRNAMBOOL golfer Joanna Flaherty has fallen short in her bid for a maiden Golf Victoria country championships title.
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Flaherty suffered a 3/2 defeat to Kilmore’s Jessica Pickwick in the 18-hole matchplay final at Tocumwal Golf Club on Friday.
The defeat gave her back-to-back runner-up finishes in the championships, the highlight of the country Victorian women’s golf calendar.
She lost to Cardinia-Beaconhills’ Alexandra Hilliard at Yarrawonga Golf Club in 2014. Teenager Hillard took the 18th hole to win one-up.
That match went down to the wire but Pickwick, a US college graduate, was a class above on Friday. She was one-up at the halfway mark and extended that lead to three after 12 holes before closing out the contest.
Flaherty, a member of the Warrnambool and Port Fairy golf clubs, said she was proud of her efforts during the championships.
The 20-year-old was ranked third after 36 holes of qualifying on Tuesday and Wednesday and won two matchplay knockout contests on Thursday.
Her semi-final was against Cobden’s Debbie Rix, one of the finest golfers to hail from the south-west.
But occasional mistakes in the decider, which opened the door for Pickwick to seize the advantage, proved costly.
“It was a pretty close match, I just made a few mistakes and she didn’t make any mistakes at all, she played very well,” Flaherty said.
“It wasn’t the greatest round of golf I’ve played but I still feel I played all right.”
She always felt under pressure to stay with Pickwick, who topped qualifying and won her first two knockout matches comfortably.
“I felt I had to hang in there. I knew she was a really good player. I had to hang in there and see what happens,” she said.
Flaherty believed she would be better for the experience.
She was contesting her second country championships and made her debut at the course.
“The more courses that I can get out and play and the more opportunities to play with better players, it all builds up as experience,” she said.
Her next assignment is representing Women’s Golf Western District at the Women’s Country Teams’ Championships in Melbourne, from August 24 to 26.
WGWD is in the top grade, having won division two in 2014. Defending champion South Western, Mornington Peninsula, Central and North Eastern are their four opponents.
The five rounds are spread across Clayton South’s Spring Valley, Cranbourne South's Settlers Run and Cheltenham’s Victoria.
“Winter is pretty quiet at the moment. I’ll go home and work on my game, do a bit of work at the (Port Fairy pro) shop,” Flaherty said.
