Cortina, Sardi team up for partners win
By: Justin Feil
Donna Cortina is looking forward to the Women’s Trenton District Golf Association’s Two Best Balls of Four Tournament at Copper Hill Country Club on Thursday.
It’s a chance for her to play with her fellow Cherry Valley Country Club members instead of against them.
On Saturday, Colleen Cosgrove defeated Cortina for the Women’s President’s Cup, a progressive tournament that carries through the season. On Sunday, Peggy Ference defeated Cortina, 4 and 3, to win the women’s club championship at CVCC.
"Both shot a 78 to beat me," said Cortina, who is an assistant basketball coach at Stuart Country Day School. "They were both deadly. They were on top of their games. It was a tough weekend."
It was the end of a busy week for Cortina that began by pairing with Susan Sardi to capture her second straight WTDGA Partners’ Better-Ball Championship on Tuesday at Peddie Golf Course. The week before, she reached the New Jersey Women’s Amateur at Hollywood Golf Club.
"I’m ready to kick back," Cortina said. "It’s very stressful. The women at Cherry Valley are so good."
It’s made for some top-notch competition among the club golfers. For Ference, it was her third club title in four years. She beat Sardi in 2004 and 2006, and in 2005, won the club’s stroke play championship.
"What’s interesting is we’re all really good friends," Ference said. "I don’t think they’re necessarily gunning for me. Every time you go into the tournament, you don’t know what will happen. That’s the beauty of match play. I feel fortunate. My competitor, Donna Cortina, probably took up the game of golf seriously four or five years ago. She’s an extremely talented and gifted athlete. She had a really big week.
"I went in saying, she had the opportunity to have the trifecta, and I thought I better be good. She and I had a great time. It’s fun when you’re in a competition like that. We know each other’s games. Each of us wants to win. At the same time, we want to have fun. It was great. It was probably one of the most enjoyable competitions I’ve had."
Following their finish, Ference tuned in for the end of the men’s match won by Willie Rosso, 2 and 1, over Mark Inman in the 36-hole final. Rosso defeated John William, 1-up, while Inman had beat Kevin Murphy, 3 and 1, in the semifinals. Ference plays with the CVCC men on the weekends usually.
She won’t be in the foursome Thursday due to her work schedule, but she is hoping that her fellow competitors represent CVCC well. Their club competitions serve to help them improve for outside tournaments.
"I’m very lucky. We have a great group of women that play at Cherry Valley," Ference said. "As a group, we’ve been working hard to become better competitors in the state. Every time we do this, the competition continues to get better and better. The professional staff is very supportive of women and women’s golf. It was nice to win it.
"I love the Cherry Valley, but the Cherry Valley competition we view as our training ground for the Met or Garden State events," she added. "Everyone’s handicap is 10 or below (outside the CVCC). This is a very good opportunity to learn to be a better competitor. When you get to those events, they’re pretty serious."
CVCC’s competition also continues to improve. In four years, Cortina has gone from a 30 to a 7 handicap.
"I’ve been working with Allan Bowman (CVCC director of golf)," Cortina said. "He’s been taking me step by step through the last couple years. I told him this year is the year I want to get to the next level."
By reaching the finals in three events in a week, Cortina certainly took a big step forward. She figures to be in contention year in and year out. And if it weren’t for the fine play of Ference, she might have celebrated her first CVCC crown. Ference felt good about being able to pull out her second straight win.
"It did just because I was struggling with my game a little bit," she said. "I’ve been working on my irons specifically. It seemed to all come together on Sunday."Next year, Cortina hopes it comes together for her in the final. But getting there was the first step.
"It was pretty good," she said. "I haven’t been playing that long. To get this far after playing four years wasn’t bad. I wanted to get there and see how I did. Now I need to get to the next level and try to win some of these. It was fun. We’re all good friends. We’re used to playing together."
Thursday, Cortina, Cosgrove, Sardi and Judy Vogt will be together again on the golf course, but they’ll be playing with, not against, each other. It’s a welcome change.

