By Rob Potter
CALLICOON — October 1, 2002 – The 2002 Sullivan County Democrat Women’s Golf Tournament turned out to be a real family affair.
The mother-daughter team of Heni and Gillian Abrams defeated the sister team of Cynthia Johnston and Debbie Briggs in the Championship Flight on Sunday. And Linda Goldstein, who is the sister of Briggs and Johnston, teamed with Lynn McDonald to win the first place plaques in the 1st Flight of the stroke-play format event, which was held at the scenic, 18-hole Villa Roma Golf Course in Callicoon.
During the third annual tournament’s 18-hole opening round on Saturday, the Abrams/Abrams team took medalist honors with an 86 and Johnston/Briggs recorded the second lowest score of 90.
In the first nine holes of Sunday’s final round, the Johnston/Briggs tandem closed the gap slightly. The sisters shot a 46 on the course’s front nine, while the Abrams/Abrams team scored a 47.
But on the back nine, the Abramses gradually salted the match away as they recorded a par on the 12th, 15th, 16th and 17th holes. The Abrams/Abrams duo won the championship, 173-182.
“This is the first year we played together,” said Heni Abrams, who competed in the 2001 tournament with another partner. “And we were a good team.”
That teamwork and consistency were keys to the victory for the Abramses, who live in New York City but have a weekend residence in Woodridge and are members of the Villa Roma Country Club.
“She had a good hole when I had a bad one,” Heni Abram said of her daughter Gillian. “And I had a good hole when she had a bad one. We just worked together and picked each other up.”
Johnston, a Shandelee resident, won the 2001 Women’s Democrat Tournament with partner Kristen Stoddard. She noted that the 6th hole was the turning point of the match.
“We got their lead down to three (strokes) by the 5th hole, but we lost three shots on the sixth and fell to six behind them,” Johnston said.
She also had praise for the new champions.
“The Abramses played really great today,” Johnston said. “They had a good team effort and they were very consistent.”
Johnston’s and Briggs’ sister, Linda Goldstein, of Neversink, and her partner Lynn McDonald, a Grahamsville resident, rallied to capture the top spot in the 1st Flight. After Saturday’s opening round, Goldstein/McDonald trailed the team of Anna Niemann and Sharon Feinstein, 94-95.
In the final round, however, Goldstein/McDonald beat Niemann/Feinstein by six strokes, 88-94, to score a 183-188 win.
The team of Jackie Harris and Stacey Benton took third place honors in the 1st Flight with a total score of 192. Mary Jean Sullivan and Janet Warren finished fourth with a two-day score of 201.
While she was unable to defend her title, Johnston noted that it was nice to team with her sister in the event.
“It was a fun tournament,” commented Johnston, adding that she and Briggs will probably return for next year’s event.
The Abrams/Abrams team definitely plans on defending their championship next year.
“Absolutely, we’ll be back,” Heni Abrams said.