ROGER LALONDE / Staff

The Squire, Gene Sarazen, has a new special friend, Mary Deklyn, the Island Country Club women's golf champion. It took 29 years, but Deklyn won the title for her second time in classic Sarazen fashion by coming from behind.

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Mary Deklyn ended a 29-year drought in winning the Island Country Club Women’s Golf Championship.

Down three holes in match play to defending champ Pat Erickson, Deklyn said, “It was a miracle that I won. I was down three holes after just four holes. It started out as a terrible day, little, by little, it worked out real well.”

By the 14th hole she had squared the match, using two birdies and two pars. It remained tied until the 17th when she parred and Erickson bogied. With a one-hole lead, Deklyn won the match by winning the 18th.

“I played the back nine as well as I have in a long time,” Deklyn said. “I think sinking a long birdie putt on the 13th hole was the turning point. The best parts of my game were driving and iron play.

“I’ve been second many times since winning in 1979, but just couldn’t pull it (the win) off. It was exciting, a lot of fun. It was sort of a miracle.”