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Quinney, Fisher claim titles photo by Drew Fleming By Don Hunt EAGLE POINT � They were born and raised in Eugene, attended South Eugene High School and played on the same golf and basketball teams. And their fathers were standout athletes at Medford High. It seemed quite fitting, then, that Jeff Quinney and Jim White III found themselves in the 36-hole championship match of the Oregon Amateur golf tournament Friday at Eagle Point Golf Club. And it seemed quite logical that the 21-year-old Quinney, three years White�s senior and with three seasons of college golf under his belt, rolled to an 8 and 7 victory on a warm, sunny day. "We�ve known each other forever," said Quinney, who shot a 3-under-par 69 in the morning round and finished the day 6 under par through 27 holes. "I�ve had the upper hand on him in the past because I�m older, but he�s gotten a lot better. I expected a tough match today." In the woman�s final, crafty veteran Marcia Fisher cruised to her seventh Oregon Amateur title with a 5 and 4 victory over Jerilyn White. Jim White and Jerilyn White are not related. Quinney, who will be a senior at Arizona State this fall, used his edge in experience to defeat Jim White, who graduated from South Eugene High earlier this month and accepted a golf scholarship to the University of Oregon. Capitalizing on excellent iron play, Quinney extended a three-hole lead in the morning round to seven following the opening 10 holes of the afternoon. During that stretch, he birdied four holes by sinking putts of 15, 5, 4 and 2 feet. "I was stuffing my approach shots," Quinney said. "My driver was a little erratic this week, but my approach shots and my putting were very good.�� Quinney�s birdie barrage put the pressure on White, and the match ended on the 426-yard, par-4 11th hole in the afternoon when White hit his drive out of bounds and wound up with a bogey. "Jeff has good tempo and he never hits the ball far off line, and that definitely puts the pressure on whoever he�s playing," said White, whose father, Jim Jr., was a running back in football for Medford High in the early 1970s. "He�s a tough match player because he�s so consistent. "I knew I�d have my work cut out for me, but I hoped to play better than this. All I can do is look at this as a learning experience." Quinney�s father, Bob, was a member of the 1959-60 Medford High powerhouse teams that won state championships in football, basketball and baseball during the same school year. The youngest of four brothers, Jeff Quinney grew up playing football, basketball, tennis and golf. "We didn�t have any toys � just balls," he said. "And whenever we went on vacation, it always centered around sports. "With three older brothers, I took some lumps, but I also learned a lot.�� Rob Quinney, now 33, played golf for the Ducks. Mark, 30, was a standout tennis player in high school and played professionally for several years. D.J., 25, excelled in football and walked on at Oregon. Jeff Quinney�s favorite sport growing up was basketball. He traveled to youth tournaments throughout the state. He became an all-league hooper by his senior year but realized long before that that golf was his ticket to college. "I loved basketball more than anything," Quinney said. "It was the common thread in my family. But I was a 6-foot-1 guard who couldn�t jump, and by my sophomore year, I knew that golf would probably be my future as an athlete." Oregon wanted Jeff to follow in Rob�s footsteps and play for the Ducks, but Jeff wanted to escape the rainy climate of Eugene. He�s never regretted his decision to attend Arizona State. "The weather, the courses, the coaches, my teammates � I love everything about it down there," said Quinney, who earned second-team All-American status his sophomore year at ASU and finished a respectable 34th at the NCAA tournament last month. Fisher, meanwhile, proved that age can be an asset when she brushed aside Jerilyn White for the women�s title. The 47-year-old Fisher bagged her seventh Oregon amateur title and her first in 10 years by shooting 3 over par through 32 holes. White, a 20-year-old senior-to-be at the UO, struggled with her putter all day and staggered into the clubhouse at 9 over par. "It feels good to still be competitive at 47," said Fisher, who won her first Oregon Amateur crown in 1980 and her last in 1990 prior to Friday. "Each of my wins in this tournament has been special, but probably none more than this one." Fisher led by just one hole following the 18-hole morning round but extended her lead to four after birdying the ninth hole in the afternoon. White got within three but missed a 5-foot par putt on the 12th hole of the afternoon to again go four down. She never recovered. "You could see the air go out of her balloon when she missed that putt," Fisher said. "She needed that one to stay in the match mentally." Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA