You can now call her a state champion.

Pam Posey of Marion birdied Beau Pr\u00E9 Country Club hole No. 15 Thursday to clinch the 2000 Mississippi Women’s State Tournament, capturing the title for the first time after finishing as a runner-up three times.

Posey defeated three-time defending champion Cissye Gallagher 5 and 3, going 3 up on the eight-time champion after six holes.

&uot;The burden’s off,&uot; the 44-year-old Posey said of her first title. &uot;I still would not have been disappointed to finish second because Cissye is such a great player. &uot;But this definitely gives me more confidence. I’m not going to have to answer the question about being a runner-up anymore, not that I was ashamed of it.&uot;

Gallagher won hole No. 7, but Posey took No. 8 to go back up by three holes.

&uot;I just tried to stay with my game and go par-hunting with Cissye,&uot; Posey said. &uot;She had some difficulty, which is unfortunate. I told myself to keep playing as if it were tied because I have a tendency to be too tentative and don’t hit my putts strong enough.&uot;

The golfers stayed even for most of the remainder of the match until Posey birdied No. 15 to seal the win.

&uot;I just had one of those days that you hope you don’t have,&uot; Gallagher said. &uot;I missed a few shots and it kind of unnerved me. When you are down like I was you don’t want to think about having to get a birdie, you want to just play the golf course and I didn’t do that. But Pam certainly deserves a state-am.&uot;

The Greenwood resident, who is married to PGA&160;golfer Jim Gallagher, has finished second five times.

Sissy Kern of Madison defeated Lori Jacobson of Bay St. Louis 5 and 4 to win the first flight, while Carolyn Barker of Biloxi was an 8 and 6 winner over Pat Dickens of Natchez in the second flight championship.

&uot;I didn’t get beat, I got beat to death,&uot; Dickens said. &uot;She played beautifully. She got off to a good start and never let up.&uot;

Lee Reeder of Tupelo defeated Agatha Haring of Natchez 5 and 3 to win the third flight.

Winning the fourth flight was Donna Gaulding of Hernando over Wanda Hutto of Waynesboro 3 and 2.

In the fifth flight, Christi Sanders of Starkville defeated Peggy Benaird of Natchez 2 up.

In the sixth flight, Maxine Walker of Jackson defeated Betty Aden 1 up, while Pat Ray of Ocean Springs defeated Mamie Calmes of Diamondhead 7 and 5 in the seventh flight.

Betsy Powell, 15, of Natchez defeated Sonya Wood of Vicksburg 2 and 1 for the consolation title in the seventh flight.

&uot;It was really tough,&uot; Powell said. &uot;I would win a hole, and she would win one. This is definitely my biggest highlight. I’m usually not very competitive, but I had to assert myself.&uot;

Judy Troupe of Brandon edged Donyce Andersson of Jackson in the eighth flight.

Jean Daigre of Natchez won the consolation championship, beating Nita Shepard of Columbia.

Joy May of Canton defeated Jimmie Massey of Jackson 7 and 6 to win the ninth flight.

Rhonda Kaiser of Natchez lost to Shug Campbell of Ocean Springs 4 and 3 in the consolation finals.

Mary Lessley of Natchez won the 10th flight, beating Myrt Majure 1 up for the title.

&uot;I have never played in this tournament and never played match play,&uot; Lessley said. &uot;I just started playing two years ago, and I really didn’t start working on my game until three months ago. My son, Jay (Lessley), helped me with my long drive and that was my forte. I never expected to get this far.&uot;