By John RittenhouseUnlike the year before, no fantastic finish was needed to settle the championship flight of the 53rd version of the Women’s Club Tournament played at the Luverne Country Club Saturday.Melissa Kopp didn’t need a late surge to win her second straight club championship.Kopp, who rallied from a four-shot deficit in the final two holes of the 2003 event to win her first club championship by one stroke, opened an early lead on Saturday and went on to best her closest competitor by five strokes to become a repeat champion in 2004."I was a little more relaxed this year, but I still was nervous," Kopp said Saturday, after receiving her championship trophy."Right now I’m just glad it’s over," she continued. "I was nervous because I knew people were gunning for me, so there was some added pressure. But the plan was to defend my title and to play my game. It worked out."If Kopp was battling her nerves on the inside, it wasn’t evident in her demeanor on the course.The 2002 LHS graduate shot what she considered to be a less-than-impressive five-over-par 41 during the tournament’s opening round, but it was good enough to give her a two-stroke cushion on what was a very crowded leader board.A pair of tee shots that leaked to the right led to the leader making bogeys on two of the first three holes in the second round. Kopp, however, saved her best for last by making two birdies while playing the final six holes at one-under-par on the way to a one-over-par 37 that clinched the championship.It looked like any one of six players competing in the nine-player championship flight had a realistic chance at winning the club tournament when the first round of play was complete.Kopp, who made par four times and took five bogeys during her 41-shot opening effort, sported two-shot cushions over Susan Schneekloth and Mary Jo Graphenteen, who shot 43s. The leader sported three-shot advantages over Paula Lammert, Lori Witt and Sandy Klein, who all turned in 44s."I really didn’t play that well (in the first round), Kopp offered. "I missed a lot of putts, and my drives were not straight."Kopp’s driving woes continued during the first three holes of the second round, but she started to find the fairway after that and reached the final six greens in regulation.Although Kopp did play the first three holes of the second round at two-over-par, the challengers were unable to take advantage of the situation.In fact, the championship flight soon developed into a two-way fight between Kopp and 1998 LCC champion Lammert. All of the other first-round challengers slipped out of contention during the back nine.Lammert climbed within two strokes of the leader by making par on the par-4 10th hole.Kopp, who drove the ball into the trees on the right side of the fairway, seemed to be in trouble when her second shot struck a tree and rolled toward the direction the shot came from, kept the damage to a minimum by sinking a testy bogey putt.Kopp and Lammert matched scores on the next three holes, making par on the 11th and 13th holes, and converting bogey putts on the 12th green.Kopp, however, received a boost of confidence when she clubbed her drive on the 350-yard (par-4) 13th hole within 125 yards of the green. She went on to make par on the hole, and didn’t gain any ground when Lammert drained a long par putt to remain two shots back. Still, the leader looked at that drive as being the turning point of her round."It really got me going," said Kopp, who exclaimed, ‘it’s about time" to the other three players in the final foursome after striking the drive. "That shot got me playing a little bit."A long drive and excellent approach by the leader set up a 14-foot birdie on the par-4 14th hole. Lammert made par on the hole, falling three shots off the pace.Both Kopp and Lammert made par on the 15th hole, but Kopp was able to extend her lead to four strokes on the par-3 16th hole.Kopp put her tee shot on the green, and needed three putts to complete the hole with a bogey. Lammert’s tee shot found the sand trap on the right side of the green, and sailed her second shot over the green on the way to a double-bogey five.Lammert recovered from her experience on the 16th hole by crushing two woods on the par-5 17th hole, which eventually led to her draining a 40-foot birdie putt from the fringe in front of the green. Kopp made par on the same hole, leaving her with a three-shot lead.Kopp finished the tournament in impressive fashion when her second shot on the par-4 18th hole came to rest three feet away from the cup. When she sank her birdie putt, and Lammert finished the hole with a bogey, Kopp had her five-stroke victory.Playing in the group in front of the final foursome, 16-time LCC champion Karen Fey played her way to a third-place finish in the championship flight with a solid second round.Fey took two double-bogeys and one triple-bogey during a 47-stroke effort in the first round. Fey made par four times and registered one birdie while carding a 39 on the back nine, finishing eight strokes behind Kopp and three shots behind Lammert for the tournament.Here is a look at all of the scores turned in by the players in the championship flight.Kopp 41-37-78, Lammert 44-39-83, Fey 47-39-86, Kim Bennett 48-39-87, Schneekloth 43-46-89, Graphenteen 43-46-89, Klein 44-46-90. Witt 44-48-92, Carmen Stratton 46-48-94.
