Bulletin staff report

SUNRIVER – The leader from the start, Jean Smith made sure she was on top at the finish.

Smith was 1 under par for the front nine Wednesday and closed with a 35-39-74 for a two-stroke victory in the Women’s Western Golf Association’s 26th National Senior Championship.

The win on the Meadows Course at Sunriver Resort was the sixth WWGA national senior championship for Smith, from the Idaho town of Eagle, near Boise.

Smith was the player to beat going into Wednesday’s flight play, having posted a 36-hole score of 151 over the first two days of the tournament to capture medalist honors by four strokes.

Tied for second place in Wednesday’s championship flight were Katie Falk (37-39-76) of Milwaukee, Wis., and Diane Henry (37-39-76) of Richmond, Texas.

Ann Swanson of Woodinville, Wash., was fourth at 37-40-77. Tied for fifth place were Kitty Willard (36-42-78) and Joan Edwards-Powell (38-40-78).

Willard, of Ketchum, Idaho, was second to Smith in medalist competition, shooting a 155 over the first two rounds.

Edwards-Powell of Portland, the 2003 tournament champion at The Homestead in Hot Springs, Va., was one of three Oregon participants in the 70-player national field.

Other flight winners Wednesday were Marianne Ceriani of Golden, Colo., in the first flight; Pat Hopple of Sylvania, Ohio, in the second flight; Joanne Berke of Dallas, Texas, in the third flight; and Anne Viault of Kingwood, Texas, in the fourth flight.

The 2005 WWGA National Senior Championship will be held in Georgia at Chateau Elan, near Atlanta.