Robin Wins Womens Senior Golf Tour Event

Maybe Kitty Robyn should bring her mother along more often.

As mom looked on from the edge of the green, kitty Robyn sank a huge birdie putt on No. 17 and went on to win the Hy-Vee Classic by one stroke on Sunday - her first tournament victory.

Robyn had encouraged her mother, Dorothy Young, to make the trip from Scottsdale, Ariz., for the Women’s Senior Golf Tour Event because she wasn’t sure how much longer Young would be able to follow her around the course.

‘I think she must have some extremely powerful vibes that helps that ball go in the hole,’ Robyn said.

Robyn, a teaching pro in San Diego, shot even-par 72 for the final round at the Hyperion Field Club to finish at 4-under 140. Laura Shanahan Rowe (66) and Cindy Miller (70) each closed at 3 under, while Dawn Coe-Jones (73), Alicia Dibos (73) and Barb Moxness (70) came in a 2 under.

Rowe’s 66 matched the record for the 6-year-old tournament.

Robyn, Rowe and Miller had appeared to be heading for a playoff until Robyn played 17. She hit a pitching wedge from 92 yards to the front fringe of the green, then rolled in a 20-foot birdie putt to take sole possession of the lead.

Not that she knew it at the time.

‘I know better than to look at the (leader) board,’ said Robyn, 50, who played on the LPGA tour from 1979-91. ‘I had no idea where I stood. Every time in the past I looked at the board, my name just came off. So I did not look.’

Miller and Rowe had finished their rounds, so Robyn just had to make par on 18. She hit a 6-iron to 25 feet on the par-3 hole, got her first putt within 2 feet and calmly knocked it in from there to claim the $75,000 first-place check.

Robyn flexed for the crowd. Her mother, standing near the bleachers, blew her a kiss.

‘We thought it would be great if she could come out and see me play one more time,’ Robyn said. ‘We might have to bring her out again with this luck.’

Rowe, a golf instructor in New Hampshire, pulled into contention with a round that included six birdies and an eagle. She finished more than two hours before the other leaders, ate lunch, then waited to see if she’d be going back onto the course.

It might have been different if Rowe had just putted a little better on Saturday, when she had 37 putts while shooting a 75.

‘After yesterday I said to myself, I’m hitting it so well. If I could just make a few putts,’ she said. ‘I was very determined to make putts today, just to erase the demons from yesterday. And believe me, the demons were screaming at me yesterday and I was screaming right back.’

Rowe, 46, had no such problems Sunday. She had an eagle on 15 after hitting a 4-wood to 8 feet and played the final 12 holes at 7 under.

Robyn charges $75 for a 45-minute lesson at the Coronado course in San Diego. At that rate, she’d have to give 1,000 lessons to earn what she made for playing 36 holes in Iowa.

All in all, a pretty good weekend’s work.

‘I’m not going to quit my day job until we get more of these,’ Robyn said with a smile. ‘But this is great. What a thrill.’

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