Copier, Thatcher team up for Four-Ball win

The State Women's Four-Ball is all about teamwork, and Emily Copier and Echo Thatcher certainly had that this week in winning the tournament played at Wingpointe and Mountain Dell golf courses.

Following up on their 66 Wednesday at Wingpoint, the Copier-Thatcher duo teamed for a 67 Thursday at Mountain Dell and defeated Tenille Slack and Tori Fishburn by two shots.

"We did really well as a team," said Copier, a 20-year-old who is transferring from Weber State to BYU next year. "We sort of switched off."

Thatcher, a 24-year-old former Utah Valley golfer "echoed" her teammate, saying, "It seemed like every time one person would bogey, the other would par. We played well together."

The two golfers became acquainted at Willow Creek Country Club, where Copier is a member and Thatcher works in the pro shop. They'll play together after work, sometimes going against some of the guys who work there, and they've developed a good chemistry.

"It's fun to play in this, because we play together a lot," said Copier.

One of the keys to their winning play was the lack of bogeys on their card over the two days, as in zero. In Wednesday's round, they had six birdies, and Thursday, they had four on the par-71 Lake Course.

Slack, the former Weber State star and State Amateur champion who now lives in Lehi, said she hasn't played much this year and called her game just "OK."

Starting the day two shots back, Slack and Fishburn pulled into a tie at the first hole when Fishburn made eagle on her ball, but they ran into trouble at No. 2, where Copier-Thatcher won the hole and were never headed.

The team of Stacy Tyler and Trudy Sanderson finished third at 145, while Sandy Beveridge and Jane Hughes were the net winners at 124.

Both Thatcher and Copier plan to play in other local events this summer, and both will be among the favorites at the State Amateur at Thanksgiving Point next month.Thatcher is off to play in the Women's Publinks in Boston later this month.

E-mail: sor@desnews.com