Melissa Kopp (middle) rallied from a four-shot deficit in the final two holes to win the championship flight during the 52nd Women’s Club Tournament played at the Luverne Country Club Saturday. Gabe Van Dyk (right) placed second. Karen Fey (left) finished third.By John RittenhouseYouth was served during the 52nd version of the Women’s Club Tournament played at the Luverne Country Club Saturday.In what ended up as a showdown between two members of Luverne High School’s 2001 state championship team, Melissa Kopp pulled off a stunning come-from-behind victory over Gabe Van Dyk late in the 18-hole event.Kopp, a 2002 LHS graduate, seemed to be a certain runner-up in the championship flight when she faced a four-shot deficit with two holes left to play.Instead of throwing in the towel, Kopp never lost faith and outscored Van Dyk by five shots over the final two holes to win her first LCC club championship with a one-stroke victory."My dad (Tom Kopp, Melissa’s caddie) told me not to give up," the club champion said after the competition. "Even when I was down by four, my Dad said anything could happen."A lot of things did happen over the final two holes, but none of it was good as far as Van Dyk was concerned.The door opened a bit for Kopp on the No. 8 tee box, where Van Dyk clubbed a drive that struck a tree on the left side of the fairway. But the golf gods still seemed to be favoring the leader when the ball caromed into the fairway after hitting the tree.Van Dyk proceeded to record a bogey six on the par-5 hole. Kopp, however, countered with a par to trim the difference to three strokes with one hole remaining.More bad luck on the No. 9 tee box led to Van Dyk’s undoing on the final hole.The first player on the box, Van Dyk struck a mighty drive headed northeast on a hole that plays from the south to the north. After Kopp and Susan Schneekloth (the other player who formed the final threesome) completed their drives, Van Dyk learned her ball rolled a couple of feet out of bounds near the LCC parking lot.The two-shot penalty incurred with her first drive became even more menacing when her second tee shot struck a tree branch on the left side of the fairway came to rest in the rough. With trees obstructing her path to the green, Van Dyk delivered an iron shot that came to rest within 10 feet of the green in the right rough.Van Dyk made a difficult chip out of the rough onto the green with her fifth shot, and completed the hole with two putts for a triple-bogey seven.Kopp, who knew she caught a break in the form of Van Dyk’s two-shot penalty, took advantage of the situation like a true champion.After her long drive came to rest in bounds in the area where Van Dyk’s rolled out of bounds, Kopp struck a solid iron shot onto the green. She proceeded to drain a 20-foot birdie putt, her second birdie of the final round, to finish the hole in three shots."I thought I had a chance when Gabe’s ball went out," Kopp said. "I was just trying to put the ball in play and make par on the last couple of holes. Birdies would be nice, too, but I was just trying to make par."Kopp needed a birdie on the 18th hole to nip Van Dyk 80-81 in the final standings. A par would have forced a playoff between the two.With the exception of a few bad breaks, Van Dyk played well enough to win the championship herself.Playing with Kopp and four-time defending and 16-time club champion Karen Fey in the first round, it was Van Dyk who set the pace.The 2003 LHS graduate shot a tournament-low round of 37 strokes to sport a comfortable lead after nine holes of play.Van Dyk’s one-over-par 37 featured two birdies and four par holes, and it gave her a four-shot advantage over Kopp and Schneekloth, who recorded 41s on the front nine.Schneekloth, who chipped in for birdie twice during the opening round, lost her magical swing during the final nine holes of play. Schneekloth was unable to record a par until the final hole of the second round while shooting a 49, which knocked her out of title contention.It looked like Kopp would have to settle with playing for second place when Van Dyk extended her lead to six shots over the challenger during the first two holes of the second round.Van Dyk opened the second round by sinking a 15-foot birdie on the first hole and taking a bogey on the second hole. Kopp dropped strokes on both holes by making par and double bogey.Kopp quickly cut Van Dyk’s lead down to four strokes by following a near-perfect iron shot on the par-3, third with an eight-foot birdie putt. Van Dyk bogeyed the hole.The birdie seemed to give Kopp some momentum as she drained an 18-foot par putt on the fourth hole to pick up another shot on Van Dyk, who finished the hole with a bogey five.Van Dyk increased her lead to four strokes on the fifth hole when she chipped out of the rough on the left side of the green to within inches of the cup, setting up a par putt. Kopp bogeyed the same hole.Both Van Dyk and Kopp bogeyed the sixth and seventh holes, leaving the leader with a four-shot cushion that wilted away during the final two holes of play.Having played in the 2002 version of the Women’s Club Tournament, finishing third behind Fey at event’s end, may have worked in Kopp’s favor Saturday."I was more relaxed this year," said the South Dakota State University sophomore, who is studying athletic training and pre-physical therapy at the college in Brookings, S.D. "I wasn’t as nervous playing with Karen Fey this year than I was last year. I should say I wasn’t as intimidated by her."The intimidation factor that has helped Fey win 16 club championships may have come into play if Fey could have played her way into the final threesome Saturday.After shooting a 10-over-par 46 during the first round, Fey registered a pair of birdies during the second round while carding a 39. She finished in third place with a 46-39-85.Kopp’s final numbers were 41-39-80. Van Dyk finished with a 37-44-81.
