Contributed by Rick Woelfel from Women's Golf Report

September 17, 2009 - Jean Bartholomew has entered a new phase of her golfing life. The former LPGA Tour player is now a teaching professional at The Creek on Long Island. Her competitive instincts are still sharp, however. Bartholomew fired a sizzling 62 on the final day to win the 22nd LPGA Teaching and Club Professional Championship at the Kingsmill Resort and Spa in Williamsburg, Va.
  
Bartholomew started the final round tied for fifth place, five shots off the pace, but charged past her fellow competitors with a bogey-free round that featured two eagles. The nine-under par round was the lowest competitive round ever by a woman over Kingsmill’s River Course. It was also the lowest round of Bartholomew’s career in terms of score.
  
Bartholomew finished the 54-hole event at 7-under par 206. Her closest pursuers, Christine Dorence and Sarah Johnson, finished six shots behind her at 212. Alicia Dibos and Sue Ginter wound up at 213. Missie Berteotti and defending champion Laura Shanahan Roe were at 216.
  
Bartholomew’s length off the tee gave her a significant advantage on a layout that played to 6,073 yards. Her scorecard included seven birdies and two eagles, one of the latter coming from the 16th fairway when she holed out with a sand wedge. But she also found success on and around the greens. She got up and down for par four times on her second nine alone and finished her round with a 25-foot birdie from the front fringe at 18.
  
Ironically, Bartholomew, played at Kingsmill five times while on the LPGA Tour, but never felt comfortable with the golf course. But on this trip she was in complete control of her game. “I don’t know how to describe it,” she said. “You have it every once in a while. But I didn’t hit the ball well at all the first two rounds. I think it’s because I’m not playing so much. You don’t go and try to fix your swing for the next day. You take what you get. Luckily, I have shorter clubs in my hand on this course.”

Bartholomew, who won the Women’s Met Open last month, pocketed $7,000 from a $70,000 purse.