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10 Independent & Free Press, Tuesday,August 10, 2010 SPORTS & LEISURE By EAMONN MAHER Staff Writer Heading into last week's Ontario senior women's championship tournament, Mary Ann Hayward was concerned about the rust factor after taking a year off from competitive golf. Turns out the only ones who should have been worried were those in the rest of the field, as Hayward cruised to a 10-stroke victory at The Club at North Halton-- her home course-- at times making shots that showed why she's in the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame. The 50-year-old Hayward (formerly Lapointe, having recently reverted back to her maiden name) took a four-shot lead after round one with a three-under-par and followed that with a pair of 74s to finish at plus one for the tourney in her debut as a senior. Hayward nearly closed out the win with a hole-in-one after her tee shot on the par-3 18th hole lipped out of the cup in front of dozens of spectators watching from the clubhouse terrace. She fired her cap to the ground in mock disgust, then calmly strode up to the green alongside longtime caddie Dave Mulholland and rolled in a 10-foot putt for her third birdie on the 18th in as many days. "I could see my game building during the club championships last weekend and it really came through in the first round," she said. "The second and third days weren't so good. I think I started to get a little tired because it was a lot of golf for me, but there were definitely a lot of positives. It exceeded my expectations, let's put it that way. My goal is to peak in October and hopefully this was the start." The 14-time Ontario women's mid-amateur champion will play in the Canadian Senior Women's Amateur Championship Aug. 23-26 in Parksville, B.C. and the U.S. senior Hayward dominates in GAO senior debut women's event in Fort Myers, Florida Oct. 9-14, but her competitive schedule won't nearly be as busy as it was in the past. Although Hayward oversees the Golf Association of Ontario's elite programs as its High Performance Sport Development Co-ordinator, the job description doesn't involve on-course coaching or playing. "Working five or six days a week doesn't leave a lot of time for golf. You just have to make time for it," said Hayward, who moved to Aurora from Georgetown in June in order to be closer to the GAO's head office in Uxbridge. "I'll be on the road a lot for the next little while with (GAO) teams and other commitments, but I try to do something every day, even if it's only for a half an hour. I did it when I had two little kids running around, so I figure I can do it now that they're grown up." North Halton's Julie Green placed in a tie for 10th with a 54hole total of 239, while Gloria Sinclair, who received an achievement award from the GAO last week for her volunteer work and on-course accomplishments, finished in a tie for 22nd at 246. Shane Scott of the Halton Hills Bulldogs shakes free of an Elora Mohawk defender during the second period in game one of the Ontario Lacrosse Association Jr. B championship series Friday night in Georgetown. Scott's scoring attempt was nullified by a crease violation but the Bulldogs held on to prevail 14-11 and then won 9-8 in overtime Sunday in Elora to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-5 series heading into game three tonight at the Alcott Arena. Photo by Eamonn Maher `Dogs up 2-0 on Mohawks Final-year forward Nic Grasby scored his second winning goal of the series in overtime Sunday night to give the Halton Hills Bulldogs a 9-8 triumph and a 2-0 series lead over the host Elora Mohawks in their best-of-5 Ontario Lacrosse Association Jr. B championship matchup. With a victory tonight (Tuesday) on their home floor, the Bulldogs will represent this province in next week's Founders Cup national finals tournament in Etobicoke. Game time is 8 p.m. at the Alcott Arena. The teams played in front of near-capacity crowds in the first two games of the series and fans were treated to back-andforth momentum surges, with leads changing hands on several occasions. In Friday's series opener in Georgetown, the 'Dogs trailed 6-4 in the second period before reeling off six straight goals, only to watch the Western Conference-champion Mohawks come back to tie the score at 11 late in the final frame. That set up the dramatics for Grasby, who took a quick pass from Jordan Dance and deposited his shot over Elora goalie Win tonight secures berth in national championships Ricky McGarr's shoulder with 2:34 remaining in regulation. The hosts added two more late goals to win 14-11, outshooting the Mohawks 61-37 in total while going 4 for 6 on the power play. Dance and Dylan Gilbert had hat tricks for the Bulldogs, with Grasby (2), Brendan MacDonald (2), Bradley Kri, Pete Laidlaw, Mike MacDonald and Justin Reid rounding out the scoring. Sunday's contest was another thriller, with Dance scoring with just under a minute left in the third to give Halton Hills a brief 8-7 lead before the Mohawks forced overtime in front of about 1,200 spectators. Mike MacDonald (2), Grasby (2), Michael Licata, Ethan O'Connor Jayson Crawford and Brendan MacDonald If game four is required, it will be played Friday in Elora at 8 p.m., and game five would be held Saturday in Georgetown at 7:30 p.m. Mary Ann Hayward returned from a year's hiatus to run away from the field with a 10-shot margin of victory at last week's Golf Association of Ontario Senior Women's Championship at The Club at North Halton. Photo by Claire Welsh Finance and Leasing rates from 0.9% 316 Guelph Street, Georgetown 905·873·1818 OR 905·874·3021 www.georgetownhonda.ca Serving Georgetown for over 30 years! ·2010 Civic starting from $13,490 including cash rebate of $2500 ·Lease from $249.40 + HST HONDA sales@georgetownhonda.ca See dealer for details O.A.C.