Kuong a quick learner
She emerges to take state final
PEABODY - Pam Kuong entered the world of competitive golf last year in the Women's Golf Association of Massachusetts Championship. Seemingly coming out of nowhere, she took home medalist honors.
Yesterday at Salem Country Club, Kuong, 47, pulled another surprise on the WGAM - and herself. The Charles River member broke open an all-square match with 1987 champ Marion McInerney with a par on the 12th, then pulled away for a 3-and-2 victory in the 18-hole State Amateur final.
The triumph capped a year in which she has emerged from years of entertaining clients on the links as a senior vice president of
"Last year, I didn't think I'd see myself as a medalist. In one year, to go from your first tournament and being a medalist, then the next year winning it, you would never dream that," she said. "You wouldn't even say that was a goal, because it didn't seem realistic. But it's because my golf instructor, Skip Guss . . . what he did in one year is incredible.
"And obviously, having [caddie] Jim Logue, who has been a member for 25 years here at Salem, him knowing the greens and the nuances of the course was like having a 15th club in my bag. It was an incredible advantage for me."
As she headed into the tournament, Kuong wasn't thinking about winning the crown. Her focus was on gaining points for the 2009 Massachusetts team for the Griscom Cup, the oldest women's amateur golf competition in the country.
She helped Massachusetts take home the Cup in May for the first time in 11 years and that pressure helped prepare her for whatever came her way.
"My goal was never to win [the final], but just get as far as I could so I could get points," she said. "There was no pressure on me because I've been in a more stressful situation, so this was easier. I think that was a key thing. I wasn't expecting to win, no one expected me to win, so there was completely no pressure with me."
Kuong also knew she had played well on the back nine. When McInerney utilized her stellar short game to make par on the par-4 10th and square the match, the tie remained for just two holes.
A solid tee shot to the center of the green on the par-3 12th allowed Kuong an easy two-putt. McInerney missed the green to the right, chipped to 10 feet, but was unable to convert her par putt.
Kuong won the 13th hole with a bogey to go 2 up, and on the par-5 15th, Kuong got up and down for par and a 3-up lead with three holes to play.
"I think for me, it was probably on the 13th green," McInerney said of the turning point of the match. "I was trying to make a 5 because I knew she was in a little bit more trouble than I was. But I was disappointed that I couldn't make my 5 . . . I think I lost to a bogey twice."
Kuong closed it out on the 16th, when the players halved the hole.
