GLEN ALLEN — Richmond’s Country Club of Virginia became the winningest club in Virginia State Golf Association Women’s State Team Matches history on Wednesday, defeating Portsmouth’s Bide-A-Wee Golf Course 29½-24½ at The Dominion Club to claim its 16th title in the event.
The victory broke a tie with Army Navy Country Club, which has won 15 Women’s State Team Matches.
THE FORMAT
In the Women’s State Team Matches, each club is represented by three four-ball match play sides. Points are awarded for each hole and each match is played to completion, leading to a total of 18 points up for grabs in each four-ball match and 54 points total in each team match.
THE CHAMPIONSHIP: CCV 29½, BIDE-A-WEE 24½
MATCH A: Mallory Kane/Pam Fisher (BAW) def. Boodie McGurn/Lindsay Wortham (CCV), 11½- 6½
MATCH B: Liza Lewis/Christine Gravins (CCV) def. Cyndi Carlson/Alice Striffler (BAW), 12-6
MATCH C: Cheryl Grigg/Brenda Baril (CCV) def. Gigi Smith/Rachel Johnson (BAW), 11-7
WINNER’S QUOTES
CCV captain Liza Lewis
“I’m so grateful that this team could pull it off. We thought that we could pull it out, and we did. We believed in ourselves every step of the way, and it really did pay off.”
Lewis on her and Gravins’ match
“We were two up after three holes and then we sort of got beat on a couple of holes going forward. But we just stuck to what we knew, stuck to our rotation and our order and made sure that we were hyping each other up and hitting solid shots.”
FUN FACTS
- Match B was tied at 2½ through five holes before Lewis and Gravins took control, outscoring Carlson and Striffler 9½-3½ the rest of the way. Grigg and Baril built a 9-2 lead for CCV in Match C in the first 11 holes to help CCV take control of that one.
- CCV tied for third in stroke-play qualifying on Monday at 6-over. The club just snuck inside the championship flight match-play field, finishing a stroke clear of Stonehenge G&CC and Elizabeth Manor G&CC.
- Bide-A-Wee earned the stroke-play medalist award, shooting a team total of 6-under on Monday, six strokes better than second-place Mount Vernon.
- The Women’s State Team Matches began in 1947, with Farmington Country Club in Charlottesville winning the first three titles. CCV won its first championship in 1950 and claimed its eighth title in 1964. It wouldn’t win again until 1995. The club has been dominant since then and has won three of the last four titles.
- Army Navy won its 15th title in 1996 and hasn’t won since.
- The biggest recent rivalry in the event has been between CCV and Mount Vernon. CCV nipped Mount Vernon in the semifinals 27½-26½ to set up the final against last year’s champion Bide-A-Wee, which had defeated Spotswood CC in the semifinals.
- Since 2005, only two clubs outside of CCV and Mount Vernon have won the title, and both hailed from Portsmouth—Bide-A-Wee in 2021 and Elizabeth Manor Golf & Country Club in 2011.
ADDITIONAL FLIGHTS
FIRST FLIGHT: Stonehenge G&CC (Richmond) 31½, Elizabeth Manor G&CC (Portsmouth) 22½
Stonehenge representatives: Suzanne Miller, Gwen Foddrell, Peggy Freeman, Heather Choe, Kristine Rohrbaugh, Helen Im
SECOND FLIGHT: The GC at the Highlands (Chesterfield) 34½, Salisbury CC (Midlothian) 19½
Highlands representatives: Debbie Kelo, Leah Wehinger, Kay Padgett, Carol Williams, Nevia Cashwell, Darlene Emerson
THIRD FLIGHT: The Dominion Club (Glen Allen) 30, Greenbrier CC (Chesapeake) 24
TDC representatives: Joanne Kitusky, Marsha Belcher, Crina Bjornstad, Keri Nimitz, Miki Gony, Beth Brooks
FOURTH FLIGHT: Richmond CC 27, Belmont CC (Ashburn) 27 – RCC won on first playoff hole
Richmond CC representatives: Whitney Pace, Bobbi Karam, Lisa Harmon, Kim Bruffy, Tillie Aguiar, Lisa Hand
FIFTH FLIGHT: Army Navy CC (Arlington) 30, Evergreen CC (Haymarket) 24
ANCC representatives: Amy Hawkins, Didi Summers, Pamela Quinn, Susan Walthall, Marie Anderson, Shara Fordyce