Kerri carries on a tradition

Tracy becomes fourth Viking in five years to win GMCT title

By: Rich Fisher
   As crazy as it may sound, Kerri Tracy’s double bogey on the first hole of the Greater Middlesex Conference girls’ golf tournament may have been a key to her eventual championship.
   Tracy shot a season-best 40 for nine holes at Bunker Hill on Tuesday, giving South Brunswick High School its fourth GMCT winner in the past five years.
   Tracy joins Lisa DiTuro, current teammate Priyanka Chanchani and Brittany Boyd as a county champ, as she beat out the J.P. Stevens duo of Lydia Kim (41) and Sarah Feldman (42).
   Feldman was the defending champ, having snapped the Vikings’ string of three straight titles, but Tracy regained the crown and led a trio of Vikings into the top 5. Chanchani was fourth (43) and Courtney Snyder fifth (46).
   "We just had a great day," coach Jaymee Boehmer said. "I’m so happy for Kerri. I know she wanted it. She’s really been working hard. Every kid in her group was good and she held her own."
   But Tracy, who was the GMC runnerup last year, had to overcome, in her words, "a rocky start" to claim the trophy. Her tee shot on the first hole landed on the out-of-bounds line.
   "Another inch and it would have been out," Tracy said. "I hit a provisional just in case, but thankfully I didn’t have to use it."
   Stuck in deep rough, Tracy hit a five-wood over the green, then chipped on. But she three-putted to finish with a six.
   Although a double bogey is not a great start, the potential was there for a blow-up hole of eight or nine that would have taken her out of contention from the get-go. The fact Tracy held it together helped her maintain poise, as she came back to birdie the second hole.
   "I just didn’t want her to lose it after her tee shot," Boehmer said. "I told her not to worry about it, let it go, just keep it going. Then she birdied two and she was on her way."
   "I knew I wasn’t going to break down," Tracy said. "Especially playing with Sarah and Lydia in the same group. And I felt I was OK because Sarah got a five on that hole and the other two got sixes..
   "That was really the only bad hole I had . . . the one where everybody is standing there watching you," she added with a laugh.
   Tracy said the birdie on the par-4 second hole was a key to getting her moving.
   "That did a lot," she said. "It wasn’t even that good of a hole. I just sunk a very long putt. It was pretty weird. It came from nowhere, but I wasn’t going to question it."
   The senior parred the next three holes before bogeying six and seven. She parred eight and led an oncoming Kim by one entering the final hole.
   With the challenging ninth hole — a former par 5 that is now a par 4 — looming, Tracy’s tee shot landed inches from the water in front of the elevated green.
   "Any further, and I would have been in bad shape," she said. "When I hit my shot, my left foot kind of dangled off a little bit over the water."
   Nonetheless, Tracy popped a nine-iron shot on top of the hill.
   "I was on the hill and didn’t have much green to work with," she said. "I hit a sand wedge and it went too far."
   But it stayed on the green, and Tracy was able to two-putt for a bogey. Kim also bogeyed and sank her putt first, leaving all the pressure on Tracy.
   "It was only about three feet, but I had some pressure on me to make the putt or it would have been a playoff," Tracy said. "I just tapped it in. I didn’t want to show too much emotion, but I was pretty excited. This is definitely the number one accomplishment in my career.
   "I think it helped having Ms. Boehmer as the official in my group. She really kept me going."
   What would you expect from the woman who is quickly becoming known as the Coach of Champions in GMC girls golf circles.
   "I’m just thrilled," Boehmer said. "They all shot their best rounds and I know Kerri is thrilled. After finishing so close last year, she really wanted it this year."
   And she got it, thanks to some mental toughness right from the start.