After a full season of competition and months of preparation, it came down to the final nine holes of the season at Sandpiper GC between North Ranch CC and MountainGate CC to determine the Women’s Team Play Champion.
But it was all cheers and high fives between the 24 competitors on the first tee this dewy Sunday morning, and both teams insisted on a group photo with both teams together before the start of the day.
“It feels like a sorority, I love this,” cheered a North Ranch team member as photos were taken.
After a blanket of All Squares and a few leads here and there, the leaderboard truly went red in the afternoon when North Ranch took the lead. It wasn’t held long, as MountainGate CC, maybe inspired by the ocean-lined back-9, took control as North Ranch slowly but surely lost their eight-point lead. Despite the windy afternoon, MountainGate CC kept chasing, giving themselves countless opportunities to hit it close.
The competition was tight, with team members basking in the sunshine patiently waiting for the final results. It came down to the top two groups. For Cindy Lee and Vivan Kim, it was close all day, until they were met with the challenging par-3 18th, where they confidently placed a shot over the water into birdie territory. They claimed the ever important two points with a par over North Ranch CC’s bogey to complete the round 1-up.
Meanwhile for the final group, Young Kim and Ellie Paik, all they needed to do was maintain – they had a consistent round all day, never losing the lead after finding it on No. 6. Paik found an incredible birdie, sealing the deal on 17 green. From there, the MountainGate CC team drove past 18 with a sigh of relief, being able to call themselves SCGA Women’s Team Play Champions.
SCGA Women’s Team Play is a competition where clubs are arranged into groups of four, and their respective 12-woman teams play a series of six home and away matches within their assigned group. All competitions play four-ball net match play. Group winners then meet in single elimination play-offs, culminating in the 18-hole championship.
For more information on Women’s Team Play click here.
