July 22, 2004

Georgetown, KY - Wake Forest sophomore Mandy Goins won the Women's Kentucky Open on Wednesday at the Cherry Blossom Golf and Country Club in Georgetown Kentucky.

Goins was the only Demon Deacon freshman in 2004 to compete in every team event. She finished her rookie season with a 76.06 stroke average, two top-20 finishes, and a rounds counted average of 86.4.

The following press release came from Thursday's Lexington Herald-Leader. The story was contributed by staff writer Keith Farner.

If Mandy Goins enters any more golf tournaments in Kentucky, she might need a new cabinet to hold all the hardware.

Goins continued her winning ways yesterday with a second-round 73 to shoot even-par 144 for two rounds, winning the ninth annual Women's Kentucky Open by three strokes at Cherry Blossom Golf and Country Club.

After relinquishing the lead after four holes to defending champion Meghan Little, Goins relied on steady play when Little's game imploded on the back nine.

"Mandy didn't make any mistakes," said Little, who shot a 3-over-par 147 to finish second. "She played awesome and she deserved to win this year."

The tournament turned out to be a two-woman race, with just five players within nine strokes. This is the first time Goins has won two tournaments in less than a week; she won the Marion Miley Invitational on Friday. She's won three of five tournaments she's entered since 2001. This might be as well as she's ever played.

"It has to be close," Goins said. "I've just been real consistent. I didn't start out today hitting it as good as yesterday, but overall I've been hitting the ball good and making a lot of pars."

Goins started the day with a two-shot lead, but lost the lead after four holes. After 11 holes, she trailed Little by two shots.

On the front nine, Little could hardly do any wrong.

She hit every fairway and green and was 2 under par at the turn, leading Goins by one shot. Then, all of a sudden, her play turned 180 degrees and she couldn't make a par.

Bogeys filled Little's card on five of the last seven holes, while Goins had straight pars. "I missed a couple of shots and she capitalized, so that's where it turned around," Little said.

Little's bogey binge started on 12, but Goins didn't take back the lead until 14. That's where Little bladed her second shot out of a bunker and had to scramble amid trees to bogey again. "That was definitely a momentum-changer," Goins said. "She was in good position and had a little struggle, but I made a really good par putt there that got me a little pumped for the next hole."

While Little was as much as 60 or 70 yards longer off the tee than Goins, it was Goins who had a better putter, at least when she needed it.

Both players finished with 32 putts. Little missed three birdie putts on the first four holes, while Goins went 2-over on the same stretch.

"Today I had a couple lip-outs, but I made the putts when I needed to," Goins said. The win completes Goins' summer of competitive golf, and she'll return to Wake Forest on Aug. 21 for her sophomore year.

"It gives me a lot of confidence," she said. "I'm really excited to get back."