Pinehurst CC named Carolinas Women's Club Team Champ
Victorious Pinehurst Country Club
(Carolinas Golf Association Photo)
CONOVER, NC (November 9, 2019) - Temperatures may not have climbed above 50 degrees during Thursday's final match of the inaugural Carolinas Women's Club Team Championship, but the competition was hot! The final match pitted No. 1 seed and stroke play qualifying medalist Cowan's Ford Country Club of Lake Norman, N.C. against No. 2 seed Pinehurst Country Club of Pinehurst, N.C. Both clubs were coming off of decisive wins in their semifinal matches and the stage was set for a fierce battle.
In the first match, Pinehurst's "A" team of Donna Tanner - Sally Means earned 9.5 points after battling Cowan's Ford's "A" team of Peg Brady - Peggy Lea back and forth all day. Both sides felt that they left many shots on the course and that the match could have gone either way at any time. The second four-ball matchup between Pinehurst's Kendra Muir - Sue McDermott and Cowan's Ford's Kathy Binkley - June Wang was not as close throughout the day. Cowan's Ford had a comfortable lead through much of the match, but faltered on the finishing holes to end the match with only a one-point margin of victory. The team point total was tied at 18 points per club team and had to be settled by a playoff. In the competition rules, ties are broken by a sudden-death playoff between the designated "A" team at the beginning of the final match.
The match that had gone back and forth all day continued for one more playoff hole, the Par-4 starting hole on Rock Barn’s Jackson course. After four good drives, Tanner and Means both hit the green in regulation for the Pinehurst side. Lea left her approach well right while Brady's shot landed close to the hole but trickled off the back of the green. Means easily two-putted for par to put Pinehurst in control of the match. Lea was unable to complete an up-and-down for par and Tanner missed her birdie putt, leaving the pressure on Brady to get up-and-down for par. Her par putt to force an extra playoff hole narrowly missed the hole and Pinehurst Country Club was named the inaugural Carolinas Women's Club Team champion.
The top-four clubs from Tuesday's stroke play qualifying round advanced to the match play semifinals of the Carolinas Women's Club Team Championship to compete for the inaugural title. Semifinal four-ball matches were worth 18 points (one point per hole). At the end of each four-ball match, points from both two-player sides of the club team were added together. The club team with the most points advanced to the final match on Thursday. The two losing clubs were placed in a consolation flight. Point totals did not carry over to Thursday's final match. The final four-ball matches were also worth 18 points (one point per hole).
After the final day of round robin four-ball match play in the First Flight, Rock Barn Golf & Spa A blew away the competition with a point total of 46 points, 7.5 points greater than Pinewood Country Club. In the First Flight, point totals from Wednesday were added to point totals from Thursday to determine the First Flight winner. Each club team played the other two club teams in 18-point four-ball matches.
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ABOUT THE
Carolinas Women's Club Team
Each club will enter two, two-woman sides each day.
Each side of two will play
an 18-hole qualifying round in a four-ball stroke play
format on the first day of
competition. The four clubs with the four lowest
aggregate scores will be
placed in the Championship Flight. All other clubs
will be flighted into flights of
four club teams by team Handicap Index and seeded
by aggregate qualifying
score. Club team winners for each flight will be
determined by two days of fourball
match play (one point per hole). Teams losing their
first round match will be
placed in a consolation match.
Players must be at least 13 years old, legal residents
of North Carolina or South Carolina, and members
in good standing of a club which is a member of the
Carolinas Golf Association
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