As if nine divisions, 35 teams and months of heated battle weren't enough, the Women’s Team Play Final saw Antelope Valley CC and Braemar CC lock up in an epic championship match that had every putt matter, even down the last.
With twelve players from each side competing in six separate matches to determine a champion and only one match left on the course, Braemar CC held the hammer. With a lead of 6 points to 4 points (2 points per winning match), the duo of Gerta Maritz and Yoshi Ohye just needed to halve their match against Eleanor Ramsey and Ann Teschler to secure Braemar’s title.
After all four competitors calmly found the fairway with their drives on the par 5 18th hole, chaos ensued. Both Braemar players dumped their approaches into the ever-inviting water that guards the finishing hole’s green. Suddenly, Antelope Valley found themselves back in the driver’s seat.
Needing a bogey to win the match and earn Antelope Valley the crown, Ramsey and Teschler both laid three near the green. With a steady entourage of golf carts and spectators following the only match on the course, the pressure was immense as each team was cheered on by their fellow teammates.
Meanwhile, Ohye dropped 50 yards out where her approach found the drink. She then stuck a wedge to 12 feet, giving herself a look at bogey to put the heat on Team Braemar. As the putt was rolling down the hill, breaking left towards the cup, it looked good, but at the last second veered away, leaving Ohye in disbelief.
It was now up to Teschler, who faced a slippery three-footer after racing her par attempt by the hole on the high-side. She gave the stroke good pace, but it tragically lipped out. Braemar had officially come back from 3 down with four holes to go to halve the match and take the title.
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.