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Jordan takes Beardsley tourney
Graham freshman maintains composure, shoots a 77 to hold off Kolodzik by a stroke.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
KETTERING — Last fall, Jessie Jordan made a promise to herself after a breakdown in the postseason: Get mentally tough.
"I blew up at districts," she said. "I was a wreck mentally. I knew I had to fix it."
And fix it, she did. Jordan shot a 77 to win the DDWGA Janet Beardsley Junior Girls Golf Tournament on Friday, June 27.
"I can't think about the entire round, or my last hole when I'm playing," she said. "I had to work on just thinking about each shot. I did that today."
Jordan admitted that she struggled to maintain her composure after three-putting her way to a double-bogey on the 12th hole.
"If you make a mistake, you have to play with it," she said. "That's the great thing about golf. You have to play with your mistakes, and get out of it on your own."
Playing one shot at a time, Jordan won by just that—one shot. Sarah Kolodzik, 13, shot a 78 to come in second.
The tournament, held at Community Golf Center, posed a challenge for Jordan.
"I usually have good irons," she said. "But the course was so short, I had to use my wedges."
Her victory at the Beardsley tournament was her second win in two days.
She won the Westfield Qualifier on Thursday at WGC in Xenia.
Janet Beardsley's son, Craig, and daughter, Phyllis Kwedar, came to present the awards. Beardsley, a pioneer in women's golf, died just weeks after attending last year's tournament.
Kwedar noticed Jordan's talent and mental toughness on the course.
"Jessie is very strong and very poised," Kwedar said. "She's a great player."
Jordan, 16, will be a sophomore at Graham High School. Her dad is Ohio District 4 Congressman Jim Jordan. He knows a thing or two about winning. His high school wrestling record was 150-1. Jessie, however, enjoys golf because it's hard to play well.
"I love golf because it humiliates you," she said. "You can't get a big head. It keeps you mentally in check."
Contact this reporter at gsilverman
@DaytonDailyNews.com.
