Rivers plays in Extreme Golf National Championships

Intevale's Julie Rivers, the first woman to ever qualify for the Ford U.X. Open Extreme Golf Championships, came up short in her bid for the title Saturday at 49 Degrees North in Chewelah, Washington. Peter "Mongo Schory, an avalanche forecaster, from Chewelah, successfully defended his extreme golf championship by besting six other challengers by winning back-to-back chip-offs on the final two holes. Rivers, the head pro at Eagle Mountain House in Jackson, finished seventh overall, being eliminated on the first hole in survivor-style shootout format. Still, she is the lone woman to ever qualify and participate in the championships.The finals were reminiscent to last year when Schory upended defending champion Jim Ryan in a final hole chip-off. This year, his accomplishment was even more impressive as the 6-handicap player defeated a field that included four golf professionals -- two of those pros -- Ric Moore, of Bakersfield, California, and Jason Pitt, of Chewelah Country Club -- fell to Schory in the sudden death chip-offs on the final two holes.Rivers, who was featured as last Friday's "Hometown Hero" on WMUR Channel 9, qualified for the championships in August, by finishing second in a qualifier held at Wildcat Ski Area in Pinkham Notch.By virtue of finishing as the top two players at the qualifying tourney, both Rivers and Adam Kolinda, of Las Vegas, each received invitations to Saturday's championships. Joining them were Schory (Chewelah, Wash.); Bill Davis (Chewelah, Wash.), Pitt, Moore and Dennis Hurlburt (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.). Schory received an automatic invite to the finals while the others were the top finishers of qualifying events at 49 Degrees North and Mammoth Mountain. The U.X. Open is golf with no boundaries. It leaves the manicured fairways, rigid dress codes, extensive rules and high costs at the country club. The U.X. Open offers golfers a whole new challenge up, down, and across a 10-hole mountain course, with 10 simplified rules catering to the rocky terrain. Instead of putting, participants must pitch the ball onto a painted circle 20-30 feet in diameter; a four-club limit; less severe penalties for lost balls and unplayable lies; and no dress code although hiking boots are strongly recommended. And you can forget about yardage markers and golf carts laser rangefinder binoculars and ski lifts are preferred."Any golfer looking for a new challenge needs to take on the rigors of U.X. Open golf," Dolores Kelly, executive director of the U.X. Open, said. "You'll hit shots you never even imagined but we guarantee you'll have a blast." A one-hour highlight show of the 2002 Ford U.X. Open Championship will be televised on Oct. 21 on The Golf Channel.