The 2024 WSCGA Team Championship was held at the beautiful Savannah Lakes Village Tara and Monticello courses. The weather was a little breezy the first day and brisk in the morning the second day but all in all fantastic! Round 1 was held on the Tara Golf Course with an 11:00 am Shotgun start commencing with a field of 62 players/31 teams in a two-person best ball format. Most of the field stayed at the Hickory Knob State Park Lodge across from the courses where they enjoyed a WSCGA evening bonfire between rounds.
The Championship Division consisted of two teams Lea Venable/Kerry Rutan and Lee Burton/Dawn Swit playing the course from a long 5763 yards due to the softness of the course. The first-round format was a two-person best ball and both teams posted a three over 39 on the front nine; however, Team Venable/Rutan found some hot putters at the turn to post an even par 36 on the back to secure a 4-shot lead going into the final round. Venable/Rutan entered the final round with a one-shot lead over Burton/Swit with a new format of Modified Alternate Shot on the Monticello Golf Course. In this format both players hit their tee shot, switch, and hit each other’s ball, then choose one ball to alternate hitting for the remainder of the hole until holed. Team Venable/Rutan came out to the gate a little nervous and posted a two over 38 on their first nine but was able to regroup and turn up the heat with 4 birdies on their back nine for a 32 and for a total of two under 70. That didn’t deter team Burton/Swit as they stayed the course of consistently posting level par on their front nine and a one under 35 on their back to card a final one under 71. Great playing in this format but fell short of overcoming the four-shot deficit they had going into the final round. As a result, team Venable/Rutan secured the 2024 WSCGA Team Championship Title making this a three-peat Venable in this event with various partners.
The WSCGA Team Championship State Division consisted of three flights with nine to ten teams in each flight. Even though this is a gross format, all teams were pre-flighted according to 85% of the combined team’s handicap. In the first flight team of Lea Ann Brown/ Pam Prescott ham and egged it very well to card a one-under best ball score of 71 being the only team to post under par in the State Division. Close behind them was the team of Catherine Shealy/Clara Rodriquez who had a few birdies down the stretch for a two over 74 and keep them in the mix for the final round modified alternate shot format where anything can happen. On the front nine of the final round Brown/Prescott stayed steady with nine pars, while Shealy/Rodriquez were alternating between birdies and bogies for a two over 38 on the front. Coming in hot from 5th position was the team of Natalie Huff/Suzann Bartley trying to make a move and carding a one over 37 on their front nine. Team Brown/Prescott took their games off cruise control and kicked into overdrive securing 4 birdies on the back to take the Overall State Division Championship Title by 13 shots with a two-day total of five under 139. Coming in next were the teams of Shealy/Rodriquez (152), Huff/Bartley (159), and Susan Christian/Luke Meyers (170) respectively.
The Second Flight of the State Division was a battle with Savannah Lakes team Em Clifford/Denise Uitto and Greenville Country Club team Tricia Reid/Hall Bickman tied going into the final round with two-day totals of 81 with another Savannah Lakes team of Penny Chute/Anne Seader right on their heels with an 84. Team Clifford/Uitto played the course as if they had done it before and combined with their home course knowledge posted a modified alternate shot score of 82. Securing their first WSCGA Team Championship Flight 2 Title by 12 strokes. Team Reid/Bickman both couldn’t find their golf groove in the final round making for a tough day and carding a 96 to take 3rd place. The teams of Leah Bohnen/Dana Halliday made a move in the final round posting a 90 to move up from 6th after the first round to 4th place finish. Also making a move in the final round was team Doris Fisher/Mary Jones carding a final round 91 along with team Chute/Seader. Team Chute/Seader with their consistency over the two days secured 2nd place in the 2ndFlight.
The final flight of the 2024 WSCGA Team Championship was the 3rd Flight whose lead was taken in the first round by another Savannah Lakes Village home team of Andrea Kim/Karen Myers. Team Kim/Myers posted a first-round best-ball score of 87 to take the lead over team Linda Nix/Joyce Davis who carded a 94. Right behind them were the teams of Maria Erwin/Gina Smith (95) and team Barbara Longello/Susan Mitchell (96). It was a close match for second place in the 3rd Flight after team Kim/Myers ran away with the 3rdFlight title posting a two-day total of 174 to win by 20 shots. Fighting for second was the teams of Erwin/Smith and Nix/Joyce. Both teams ended up posting a two day total of 194; however, team Erwin/Smith edged out Nix/Davis in the scorecard playoff to have the 2nd place honors.
Another great championship in the books with some fantastic golf, new friendships, and lots of fun. Special thanks to Savannah Lakes Village community for embracing the WSCGA, our volunteers, rules officials, and a special thank you to our WSCGA State Representative Ann Jones for making it great! We hope to see everyone at another WSCGA event soon.
