With the reworking of the 2020 MSGA-WD tournament schedule due to COVID 19, the State Team matches were moved from May to September with the finals taking place during the first week in October. Given the alternate timeline, it worked out well for a good number of teams and the weather was very favorable during most of the matches. Eighteen teams entered this year, which allowed for 3 flights: Championship Flight, First Flight, and Second Flight.
Flights:
Championship Flight: Argyle, Baltimore CC, Breton Woods, Chevy Chase, Maryland Golf, and Norbeck
First Flight: Hunt Valley, Manor, Montgomery, Sparrows Point, Talbot, and Woodmore
Second Flight: Breton Bay, Eagle’s Nest, Hayfields, Oak Creek, Rolling Road and South River
Finalists and Winners:
Championship Flight: (1) Norbeck vs. (6) Chevy Chase
First Flight: (1) Talbot vs. (2) Montgomery
Second Flight: (2) Oak Creek vs. (4) Breton Bay
Final Scores and Match Highlights:
Championship Flight Finals: Norbeck vs Chevy Chase (7-5)
Team #1: The first match at the Chevy Chase Club was contested by Beth Ennis/Deb Klein from Norbeck and Mina Coggeshall/Nancy Carter from Chevy Chase. Chevy Chase took the lead early with a win on the first hole and stayed in the lead until #6 when Beth Ennis sunk a birdie putt to tie the match. The front side of the match remained even until Beth sunk her second birdie putt on the 9th hole to win the front 1-up. Norbeck continued their streak going to 3-up on the back on the 13th hole; however, Chevy Chase rallied and won holes 14, 16, & 17, making the back-nine all square. Norbeck turned it around once again on the last hole of the side to win the 18th and take all three points.
Team #2: The second match at the Chevy Chase Club included Pressie Hoffman/Bailey Scheurer from Chevy Chase in a match against Shawn McCullough and Diane Willkens from Norbeck. Norbeck won 2 points and Chevy Chase won 1 point. Shawn birdied #7 with a one putt birdie 3 to win the hole followed by a birdie chip-in by Pressie from Chevy Chase on #8 to win the hole. Chevy Chase went 1-up after 9 by winning the 9th hole. Norbeck came on strong winning the first three holes of the back nine with a birdie by Shawn on 12. Both teams birdied the par 3- 15th hole with the match ending on the 16th green with Norbeck’s Diane Willkens making par.
At Norbeck, the Chevy Chase team of Linda Fort /Clare Connolly teed off first to begin the match. They would not be back on the tee first until the 6th hole as Shannon Stevens (Norbeck) sunk a nice birdie putt on the first hole, and Liz Hall (Norbeck) was conceded her short birdie putt on #4. Clare went on to birdie 5, 8 and 9 to win the front 1 up. Clare and Linda won holes 10-12 with pars but halved the 13th with bogeys by all. They then finished par-par on 14 and 15 to win the overall point on 14 and the back-nine point on 15 for a total of 3 points. Norbeck’s team #2, Christine Bechtel and Cara Huff won their match 2-1.
First Flight Finals: Talbot vs. Montgomery (1-11)
The course conditions at Montgomery were excellent and the matches were remarkably close. Playing at Montgomery were Jun Moersen/Freda Chase (Montgomery) and Kim Kaestner/Janet Larson (Talbot). Montgomery took the lead winning the first two holes, but Talbot answered back winning the next two holes. The teams were all square after 6 holes and remained even for the next 3 holes with each team winning a half a point for the front nine. They remained tied until the 12th hole where Talbot took the lead (Kim Kaestner making a long putt) but Montgomery came back and won the 14th hole (Jen Moersen making an equally long putt) leaving the teams tied again. On the 15th hole Montgomery took the lead and continued to win holes until they clinched the back nine overall match point on the 17th hole. Montgomery 2.5 vs. Talbot 0.5.
At Talbot, the #1 team of Stephanie Boyles Griffin/Suncha Kim (Montgomery) vs. Alice Ryan/Ellen Schiller (Talbot) also played a very close match. Montgomery would maintain the lead through 7 but Talbot came back to win holes 8 and 9. Montgomery took the 1st point, but Talbot was positioned to protect the overall score. On the back nine, Talbot took the lead up to hole 15. With 3 up and 4 to go, Talbot had their momentum. But Montgomery came back with a birdie on 16 and pars on 17 and 18 to tie the match. Montgomery 2.5 vs. Talbot 0.5.
The second team at Talbot, Angie Yoo/Susie Lee (Montgomery) and Joan Heiss/Kelly McDonald (Talbot) played the front nine even, with the Montgomery team taking a point at the turn. On the back nine, the Talbot team pulled back from a 3-hole deficit, but the Montgomery team held strong on the 17th and 18th holes, taking points for both the back nine and overall. Montgomery 3 vs. Talbot 0.
Second Flight Finals: Oak Creek vs. Breton Bay (1-11)
This match was played on a spectacular fall day. At Oak Creek, the #1 team was Kimbra Benson/Diane Dixon (Breton Bay) vs. Susie Wagner/Jane Horst (Oak Creek). Breton Bay took an early lead with 6 up on the front nine and continued to dominate the back nine, winning the first 3 holes to go 3-up thru 12. Oak Creek came back but was not able to overcome the deficit. Ultimately, Breton Bay won all 3 points in their match. Breton Bay’s Team #2, Emily Abeling/Kelly Dombrosky won the front nine and Oak Creek’s Marlies Empey/Linda Carlson won the back nine. Breton Bay won the overall point giving them a 2-1 edge. The final score at Oak Creek was Breton Bay 5 vs. Oak Creek 1.
At Breton Bay, the home team of Lynn King/Pam Schwikert vs. Sue Pare and Carol Scott of Oak Creek took an early lead and was 3-up through the 5th hole. Oak Creek came back to win the next hole bringing the Breton Bay lead to 2. Breton Bay won hole 7 and Oak Creek won hole 9. Breton Bay took the first point winning the front nine, 5.5 to Oak Creek’s 3.5. On the back nine, the match was even until hole 17 when Breton Bay took the point.
Team #2 at Breton Bay, Jung Choi/Kit Martin played against Oak Creek’s Lucia Palacios/Carolyn Hudson. This was another close match, but Breton Bay prevailed and took all 3 points.
Thanks to all the team captains, their teams, their professional golf management staff for their time and commitment to the Women’s State Team Championship. The camaraderie and quality sportsmanship made this a successful tournament. Looking forward to 2021!
