Albright wins ninth straight

Debbie Albright used the middle two rounds to distance herself from

the field and won her ninth straight Newport Beach Country Club

women’s championship as play concluded Thursday.

Albright shot 75 and 73 in the second and third rounds,

respectively, to go with an 84 and 83 to conclude the four-day

tournament at 315. Her four-day total was nine strokes lower than

last year’s score.

Kay Heaney (347) came in second while Joan Furry (350) followed in

third.

Furry had a hole-in-one on No. 13 during the first round.

With the victory, Albright qualified for this summer’s Tea Cup

Classic, scheduled for August 12 at Big Canyon Country Club.

The Tea Cup pits the women’s champions -- or runner-up -- from the

four Newport-Mesa private clubs against one another in an 18-hole,

stroke-play championship round.