World’s Largest Amateur Tournament for Women Contested at PGA National Resort & Spa
PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLORIDA) – For the second year in a row, Rachael Moreaux of San Rafael, California took home low gross honors at the EWGA National Championship, contested Friday and Saturday at PGA National Resort & Spa.
Moreaux, an EWGA member from the Sonoma-Marin-Napa, Calif. chapter, defeated hometown favorite and Port St. Lucie, Fla.-native Pat Ayres, with a final two-day score of 149 on the resort’s Palmer Course.
Moreaux’s low 71 on the first day of play was eleven strokes ahead of Ayres, providing strong momentum into the final day’s play. Ayres, a member of the Palm Beach County chapter, is a past champion of the tournament, taking low-gross honors in 2006 and 2009.
Krista Wylder of the Sacramento, Calif. chapter took home low net honors in the Championship Flight with a final 144, and the Houston team won the Scramble Division by two strokes over the Portland. Ore. and the Palm Springs-Desert Cities, Calif four-person teams who took 2nd and 3rd place respectively in a scorecard playoff.
“It was an exciting experience for the competitors and inspiring for us at the EWGA,” said EWGA CEO Pam Swensen. “The EWGA has truly enriched these women’s lives because although competition is important to this Championship series, the relationships and bonds formed here will last a lifetime.”
Among many highlights of the two-day event, Elise King of Palm Desert, Calif. carded a hole-in-one on the PGA National’s Palmer course. King, a member of the Palm Springs/Desert Cities scramble team, drove her ball 108 yards with a six iron on the par-three 13th hole.
The 36-hole EWGA Championship Final, presented by Geico, consisted of 220 women amateur golfers who advanced beyond 130 local chapter qualifiers and 15 semi-final regional tournaments to compete in the National Championship. The final field represented 77 EWGA chapters in 33 states as well as Canada.
Competitors play in flights based on skill level determined by their USGA Handicap Index and the competition consists of two different formats: individual stroke play and team scramble.
The championship’s format encourages women of all skill levels to compete, underscoring the EWGA’s mantra to enhance the careers and lives of working women through golf. More than 2,500 women nationwide entered the National Championship series this year, which began in June.
EWGA National Championship winners are:
Championship Flight: (1 – 12.0 Handicap)
Low Gross First Place: Rachael Moreaux (Sonoma-Marin-Napa, Calif. Chapter) – 149
Low Net First Place: Krista Wylder (Sacramento, Calif. Chapter) – 144
First Flight (12.1 – 19.0 Handicap)
Low Gross First Place: Caroline Berger (Atlanta, Ga. Chapter) – 173
Low Net First Place: Yang-Hai Wang (Greater Toronto, Ontario Chapter) – 144
Second Flight (19.1 – 25.0 Handicap)
Low Gross First Place: Dawn Filippine (Kalamazoo/Battle Creek, Mich. Chapter) – 185
Low Net First Place: Karen Biscaha (Sacramento, Calif. Chapter) – 133
Third Flight (25.1 – 32.0 Handicap)
Low Gross First Place: Edith Apuya (Los Angeles, Calif. Chapter) – 196
Low Net First Place: Lori Maxwell (Cleveland, OH Chapter) – 131
Fourth Flight (32.1 – 40.4 Handicap)
Low Gross First Place: Janice Smith (Miami, Fla. Chapter) – 214
Low Net First Place: Ally Dees (San Antonio, TX Chapter) – 143
Scramble Division
First Place: Houston, TX Chapter Team – 134
Captain Stephanie Flower
Cay Dickson
Robin Famiglietti
Lynne Hoyt
Ties for first place were determined by sudden death playoffs and scorecard playoffs were used to determine ties for second and third place.
Complete results can be found at http://www.ewgachampionship.com.
