Category: Women’s Golf

2019 Prairie Invitational Player Preview

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The Prairie Invitational is a premier women’s event in Kansas City for amateur and professional players. Its purpose is to enhance women’s golf and junior women’s golf not only in the Kansas City area but on a regional level. Formerly known as the Women’s Amateur of Kansas City, the Prairie Invitational was founded to determine the best female golfer in the Midwest. The 2017 event was the first time the event was conducted over 54 holes in the Open Division and was also the first year the event was included in the World Amateur Golf Rankings.

The championship includes two-separate divisions. The Open division is targeted toward expert level players and will be played at championship yardage of 6,100-6,200 yards. The Open Division features a cut to the low 18 players and ties after play on Tuesday with a final-round finish for those who advance on Wednesday. A 36-hole Players division will be for gross and net players who want to play from the traditional ladies’ tees.

The 2018 Prairie Invitational was held on July 23rd-July 25th at Indian Hills Country Club. It proved to be an excellent test of golf for both the Open and Players Divisions.  The tree-lined fairways and undulating greens made making par very difficult and gave up very few birdies. The course gave up a low single-round score of 71 (+1) and a record-high winning total of +14. Emma Whitaker of Wichita, Kansas claimed the Open Division title over defending champion Kristen Samp. She also won the Kansas Women’s Amateur title.  Reagan Zibilski of Nixa, Missouri won the Open Division Low Junior award, while Julia Misemer claimed the Kansas Low Junior. Hope Robinett won the Players Division Gross title, and her twin sister Hanna Robinett won the Players Division Net title.

The 2019 Prairie Invitational will be held at The National Golf Club of Kansas City in Parkville, Missouri on July 22-24, 2019 and will be run as an individual championship with the Kansas Women’s Amateur to be run in August.

Players to Watch

Sarah Bell

With the lowest handicap index of the field of +3.4, Sarah Bell already sticks out as a player to watch for this year’s championship. From Jackson, Missouri, Bell just finished her freshman year at Oral Roberts University. A two-time high school girls golf Champion at Notre Dame High School, Bell’s talent and proximity to the Kansas City area makes her a great choice to take away the trophy.

Kristen Samp

Kristen Samp is no stranger to the Prairie Invitational. Samp’s finishes in the Prairie include a tied for 2nd finish in 2016, Champion in 2017 and a runner-up finish in 2018 after losing in a playoff. Following a tenured professional career and competing on the LPGA Tour, Samp is a PGA/LPGA Professional in Lawrence, Kansas.

After a few years being at the top of the leaderboard in the Prairie Invitational, Samp’s experience in the event gives her the ability to win it all again.

Ellen Port

Ellen Port is a name you should know if you follow amateur golf. A seven-time USGA Champion, Port will be playing in the Prairie Invitational for the second year in a row. From St. Louis, Port is no stranger to the Kansas City area, and it showed with a tied for 5th finish in last year’s event.

Port’s Championship accolades include four US Women’s Mid-Amateur titles and three US Senior Women’s Amateur titles. It wouldn’t be surprising to see her add the 2019 Prairie Invitational to that already distinguished list.

Stacy Dennis

Stacy Dennis is set to make her first appearance in the Prairie Invitational. Executive Director of the Texas Golf Association, Dennis comes all the way from Plano, Texas to compete against a highly talented field.

Dennis’s playing career is not something that goes unnoticed. Dennis was a member of the Texas A&M Women’s Golf team and winner of two Texas Women’s Amateur Championships (2004, 2009). She also won the Women’s State Four-Ball Championship twice (2009, 2015) and was a US Women’s Mid-Amateur semifinalist in 2012.

Her knowledge of the game and experience competing at the highest level gives her an edge in this year’s event.

Emma Whitaker

Emma Whitaker is the current Defending Champion of the Prairie Invitational. Just finishing up her sophomore season at Oklahoma State, the 20-year-old is used to performing under pressure. After winning in a playoff over Samp, Whitaker completed one of the biggest wins of her career.

Originally from Wichita, Kansas, Whitaker is a talented young golfer that should thrive on a course like The National. It will be exciting to see how she fares as the defending champion.

Rachel Stous

Rachel Stous, a Topeka native, won the Kansas City Women’s Match Play in early June in record fashion – with a walk-off Hole-In-One to close out the match.  With length being a strong suit of her game, Stous should thrive on a modern course like The National and will be one of the few players in the field with ability to reach some of the long par-5 holes.  Stous has also advanced through the men’s Topeka City Match Play, winning matches against men while competing from the same tees the last two years.  She played one season at Wichita State and is set to represent Kansas on the Fore State team at the end of the month.

Haley Thiele

Haley Thiele just won her second Nebraska Women’s Amateur Championship in three years.  A standout for the University of Nebraska women’s program, she went deep in the KC Women’s Match Play Championship last month as well.  She will be joined by several of her teammates in the field.

Whitney Pyle

Whitney Pyle was a standout on the Kansas State University team. Whitney has been preparing to play LPGA Q-school in the fall with a solid off-season of play in Florida.

Announcing the 2019 Women’s Fore State Team

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Lenexa, KS – The Kansas Women’s Fore State team has been finalized and is set to begin the annual competition with teams from Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma later this month at Shadow Valley CC in Rogers, Arkansas.  The competition features Four Ball matches on Monday, July 29 in the morning, and Foursomes matches later that afternoon.  It is completed with Singles matches on Tuesday, July 30.  Players are selected from a points list that includes championship results from the prior two seasons and up to the Tee Fore Two Championship in June of this year.  Team Kansas is looking to win the championship for only the third time since the competition was established 20 years ago.  Wish your team the best of luck and follow their matches online during the competition.

Amateur Division Players

Rachel Stous – Topeka High graduate; played one year at Wichita State; 2019 KC Women’s Match Play Champion with a walk-off hole-in-one; quarter-finalist in Topeka GA Men’s Match Play in 2019 & semifinalist in 2018; won 2018 Topeka Women’s City Championship

Anna Zech – Family of four, brother Ryan is a professional golfer; started playing with her dad and brother at age 7; plays on the women’s team at Northwest Missouri State; finished top 25 in MIAA Conference Tournament

Chloe Kraus – Started playing golf in Skip Maiwald golf camps at age 13; has four younger brothers and sisters; Olathe NW graduate; attended Wallace State CC for one year, then to Freed Hardiman University; 4-time NAIA Player of the Week; 5th place in conference – 2018; First Team All-Conference – 2019; Kansas Women’s Amateur Runner-Up – 2018; 4th place at The Prairie Invitational – 2018; just started as graduate assistant coach for men’s and women’s golf at Baker University

Becky Thomas – 2019 Tee Fore Two Champion out of Terradyne GC in Wichita, KS; married to husband Steve for 16 years, has a daughter in the 8th grade and a 5 year-old Weimaraner; works full time as a transactional paralegal at a large Kansas law firm; has played golf since age 10 and been hooked ever since; played four years at Wichita State University finishing as one of the top 10 players in the MVC as a senior; continued playing competitively after college and qualified for the 2010 US Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship at Wichita CC; former Wichita City Match Play Champion

 

Mid-Amateur Division Players

Martha Linscott – Family of five – 2 swimmers at the University of Minnesota and 1 sophomore in high school; girl’s golf coach at St. Theresa’s Academy; played in 11 USGA Championships (2 US Women’s Amateur Public Links, 3 State Team Championships, 6 US Women’s Mid-Amateur Championships); enjoys competing with women who love golf as much as she does

Robbin Wasson – Married to Brian Jackson and has a son, Pierce; is a licensed attorney in Kansas City and has served as a prosecutor handling homicide, major case, and sex crime prosecutions; began playing golf in 2014 after joining Indian Hills CC and began an instant love affair with the game and has worked to improve ever since; 3rd Net in The Prairie Invitational Players Division in 2018; named Most Improved Female Golfer in 2015, 2017, and 2018

Susan DeVoe – Began playing golf in her mid-40s; 2016 KWGA Players Champion; 5-time Kansas Fore State team member; spends time traveling with partner, Mary, and friends; high school social worker and starting a high school golf team at Eudora HS

Kim Wright – Married to Kyle, daughter Madison is 19 and son Logan is 16; has worked in public schools as a speech pathologist for 25 years, currently in Olathe Schools at Indian Trail MS; Earned BA and MA from KU; played collegiate golf at KU; started playing golf as a junior with her parents; enjoys traveling, spending time with family and friends, playing golf during the summer, and cheering for the Jayhawks

 

Masters Division Players

Terri Albers – Married to husband Chris, has two grown children – daughter is an architect in Colorado and son is a 1st Lieutenant in the Air Force flying C-130s; is a dentist with a practice in Oakley, Kansas; multiple Tee Fore Two champion, multiple top 5 finishes in the Kansas Senior Championship

Jettie Bezek – Met husband Bob on a golf course ten years ago; one daughter and two grandchildren; began playing golf at age 31; won KCGA Tournament of Champions at Hallbrook; qualified for three USGA Women’s Amateur Public Links Championships

Susan Mueller – Married to Mike Mueller, MD; has two daughters, a son, and two granddaughters; enjoys traveling, hiking, golfing and water sports with her family; began playing golf 19 years ago, and it quickly became a passion; plays golf frequently with her husband and lives on the 18th hole of the North Course at Crestview CC; 5-time Crestview CC Ladies Club Champion; has won various tournaments in the state of Kansas and city of Wichita, both gross and net; enjoys teaching her granddaughters golf and sewing; has been a Realtor since graduating from Bethany College in 1977; her father is healthy and active at 101 years old; represented Team Kansas at Fore State in 2017

Barbara Cusick – has MBA & CPA and worked at Disneyland in Internal Audit & Finance; she and husband, Dr. Doug Cusick, have been actively organizing and doing medical missions in Peru for four years with Advent Health; the Cusick family has been involved in overseas and local medical missions for over 30 years; has served on the boards of Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Heart to Heart; currently serves on the Asian American Chamber of Commerce KC and is the Foundation Board Chair of Advent Health Shawnee Mission and Advent Health Board of Trustees; started playing golf with her husband so they could play a sport together; loves competing and promoting women’s and junior golf; 2014 & 2017 Prairie Invitational Players Division Gross Champion; three-time Hallbrook CC Club Champion

Captains:

Karen Exon – recently retired as Baker head men’s and women’s golf coach Karen Exon was with the Baker athletics staff since the 1998 school year when she helped start the women’s golf program as head coach; served multiple terms as President of the Kansas Women’s Golf Association

Jacque Madison – Married to Aaron, one son, Braden, who is 20; been a golf professional for 20+ years; PGA and LPGA Class A member; played college golf at Kansas State, Academic All-American 1993-1994; PGA LEAD Class member 2019-2020; qualified for five USGA Championships (US Girls Junior, 2 US Women’s Amateur Public Links, US Women’s Amateur; State Team Championship); Director of The Prairie Invitational; Manages Women’s Championships for the state of Kansas

 

Amanda Booth and Rebecca Thomas Take Overall Title at Tee Fore Two

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Rolling Hills CC, Wichita, KS – It took an extra hole for Amanda Booth (Wichita, KS) and Rebecca Thomas (Wichita, KS) to claim their first title in the Tee Fore Two Championship over defending champions Denise Desilet (Wichita, KS) and Patricia Sherwood (Wichita, KS).  Booth and Thomas began the day with a two-stroke lead after Monday’s Four Ball format and made the turn in the difficult Chapman Alternate Shot format with the same margin.  Desilet and Sherwood chipped away at the lead with a birdie on the par-3 13th hole and narrowly missed claiming a second straight title with a missed birdie putt on the 18th.  Booth and Thomas gave away the lead with a bogey at the 18th.  Both teams returned to the 1st hole for a playoff continuing in the Chapman format.  Booth and Thomas parred the first playoff hole to claim the title.

In the net division, Laurie Hughey (Wichita, KS) and Susan Mueller (Wichita, KS) began the day five strokes back after Monday Four Ball.  Chasing Beth Parmley (Loma Linda, MO) and Peggy Hinde (Pittsburg, KS) in the challenging Chapman format, they fired a gross 75 for a net 61 to win the Overall Net Championship by two strokes. The pair made eagle on the 2nd hole and never looked back.

The Monday afternoon Shootout began with 20 teams playing for the championship.  Preliminary action whittled the field down to Betty Skillett & Nancy Thomas, Karen Exon & Cindy Cooper, Bobbi Sauder & Diana Solis, Susan Mueller & Laurie Hughey, Danell Wilbur & Pam Marlow, and Karen Irwin & Lou Ann Buss.  Skillett/Thomas were eliminated on the 14th hole, and Sauder/Solis exited on the 15th.  Exon/Cooper were eliminated after a tough 3-putt at the 16th.  It took a chip-off to eliminate Mueller/Hughey on the 17th.  It looked like Wilbur/Marlow had the advantage on the 18th green, but Buss/Irwin made a long putt for par to change the dynamic and would eventually claim the shootout title.

Kim Wright made a hole-in-one on the 6th hole in the Chapman format. The next women’s championship is The Prairie Invitational at The National Golf Club of Kansas City on July 22-24 followed quickly by the Kansas Women’s Amateur at historic Prairie Dunes CC in Hutchinson, Kansas on August 5-6.

Click Here for Complete Results

 

 

Mid-Ams on a Mission

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  Colbert Hills GC, Manhattan, KS – This year marks the first time in history that the Kansas Golf Association will host a stand-alone Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship.  The Mid-Amateur is typically for players who are at least twenty-five years old at the start of the championship and was started to give post-collegiate players an opportunity to compete with their peers.

Mid-amateurs usually have careers, families, and many have both.  Somehow, they find the time to keep their games sharp and still love the opportunity to be competitive in a sport most have played since childhood.  This year’s event has a field of fifteen with some of the very best mid-amateurs not only in Kansas, but in the Midwest.

Defending Champion Megan Dupy, Salina, returns to the field expecting her third child in the early fall.  Not only does she raise a family, she is also a volunteer assistant coach at Kansas Wesleyan College and the Salina Country Club women’s champion.  “She is a great help for our women’s program,” said Head Coach Randy Syring.  “She is excellent at helping our players understand the difference between practice and playing a competitive round.”  Megan played her collegiate golf at Southwest Missouri State in Springfield, Missouri.

Katy (Nugent) Winters joins the field for the first time.  Katy was a stand-out junior golfer in the state of Kansas before starting her collegiate career at the University of Arkansas.  She transferred to the University of Kansas to finish her junior and senior seasons in her home state, and her name is sprinkled through the KU Women’s Golf record books.  She is a two-time Kansas Women’s Amateur Champion.  She qualified for the US Women’s Amateur at the local qualifier last summer and has a career at Koch Industries.

Lacy Shelton and Carmen Titus, both of the Kansas City area, are also competing for the championship.  Carmen is a 2014 Missouri Women’s Mid-Am champion and advanced to match play last fall at the USGA Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship.  Lacy is the 2011 Missouri Women’s Mid-Am champion, the 2009 Kansas City Women’s Amateur champion, and a frequent competitor in USGA national championships including the US Women’s Mid-Am and an appearance at the US Women’s Four Ball Championship last month in Florida.

Martha Linscott has competed in eleven USGA championships over her playing career (2 Public Links, 3 State Team Championships, and 6 Mid-Amateur Championships), which includes college stints at Oklahoma State and Missouri State, and raising three children, all who play golf and two who are currently collegiate swimmers.  Scotland Preston, the 2016 Kansas Women’s Amateur Champion, also joins the field for the first time this year.  She competed on the Kansas State University team, finishing her collegiate eligibility in 2016.  Barbara Cusick, the 2014 and 2017 Prairie Invitational Players Division Champion, is also in the field for the first time. Rounding out the field are a bevy of excellent amateur golfers who are either beginning their competitive careers outside their club competitions or are re-joining the competitive ranks after a hiatus.

This year’s championship will have both an Overall Gross Champion and an Overall Net Champion as well as gross and net prizes in flights.  Colbert Hills will be an excellent venue for this championship, providing a great challenge along with some fantastic risk/reward holes to tempt the longer hitters. Follow scoring online and cheer on competitors from your town at: https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/1856332  > Tournament Results Competitors from: Kansas – Andover, Hays, Kansas City, Leawood, Lenexa, Mission Hills, Oakley, Overland Park, Salina; Missouri – Greenwood, Kansas City, St. Joseph

2018 Tomahawk Hills Invitational

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Tomahawk Hills Women’s Golf Association 2018 Invitational

  • 18 Hole Ladies Invitational – 2 person scramble
  • Wednesday June 6, 2018
  • Enter by May 28, Limited to 50 teams
  • All skill levels are welcome! Event holes, prizes, raffles
  • 8:00 AM Shotgun start
  • $60 per person – includes greens fee, cart, mulligans, breakfast, lunch, participation gift, and cash prizes

Make checks payable to the THWGA and mail to:

Peggy MacKay; 4925 Widmer Rd. Shawnee, KS 66216

Call or email Peggy at Macpeg56@aol.com or (913)-631-1191

For registration form, click here: 2018 THWGA Application.

 

2018 KCGA Season is Officially Open!

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The 2018 KCGA Season has officially begun!

As of 10 AM today, players are now eligible to register for any KCGA event, as well as post scores. Registration for KCGA events will be through Tournament Pairing Program (TPP), the same system used last year.

Click here to register!

To be eligible to register, players must have an active GHIN number. For StateLine Amateur Tour and Kansas City Junior Tour, players must also be a registered member of the league before signing up for individual events.

If you have any questions or issues feel free to email the KCGA staff or give us a call at (913)-649-5242 ext 0.

KWGA Memorial Scholarship Applications Now Open

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The Kansas Women’s Golf Association Memorial Scholarship was established January 1, 2018 to commemorate and continue the KWGA Scholarship. This scholarship awarded college/university scholarships from 1991 through 2017. The KWGA Memorial Scholarship is awarded annually to one or more Kansas high school seniors or graduates of a Kansas high school who are enrolled as a full-time student of an accredited college or university.

Applications for the KWGA Memorial Scholarship are now open! All applications/supporting materials become the property of the KWGA Memorial Scholarship Committee and MUST BE postmarked on or before March 30, 2018 and mailed by U.S. Mail to:

Karen Exon, Committee Chair, KWGA Memorial Scholarship
2310 SW Mayfair Place
Topeka, KS 66611
Phone – 785.633.2723
Email – karenexon01@gmail.com

Please see the following link for more detailed information such as eligibility and requirements for applications:

KWGA Memorial Scholarship

Erin Carney and Lacy Shelton Qualify for the U.S. Women’s Four Ball Championship

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OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Erin Carney and Lacy Shelton paired up to dominate the field at Brookridge Golf and Fitness to qualify for the 2015 U.S. Women’s Four Ball Championship.

The U.S. Women’s Four Ball Championship replaced the now-retired U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championships, which were conducted for the final time in 2014. It is the newest national championships to be conducted by the USGA. The creation of the U.S. Women’s Four Ball Championship was announced on Feb. 11, 2013. It is the first additions to the USGA roster of national championships since the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur in 1987.

Erin Carney and Lacy Shelton controlled the competition at Brookridge Golf and Fitness as ink a perfect bogeyless round of 66 (-5) on their scorecard. Five strokes behind Carney and Shelton was the first alternates Sophie Peters and Anne Robertson as they fired a 71 (E) round, including five birdies on the day. The second alternates were Tracee Lechner and Carmen Titus as they posted a 76 (+5).

The second annual U.S. Women’s Four Ball Championship will be held at Streamsong Resort in Bowling Green, Florida, on May 19-25, 2016.

Click here for full results of the 2016 U.S. Women’s qualifier at Brookridge Golf and Fitness.

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Booth Shines Through the Rain at Adams Pointe

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The third event of the 2015 Stateline Amateur Tour began Thursday, May 14, at Adams Pointe Golf Course in Blue Springs, Missouri.

The event began with a solid turnout of 71 players to battle non-stop rain and windy conditions throughout the morning until the weather lightened up in the afternoon.  There were five divisions competing in the Stateline Amateur Tour event including the open, players, senior, legends and women.

Frank Booth led the senior division posting a 72, even par, carding three birdies on the day.  Following Booth was Don Kuehn who fired 78 (+6).  Ernie Swart and Greg Loteckie both shot 79 (+7).

In the Legends division, Pat Goeke won the event shooting 75 (+3), edging the runners-up Jerry Reid and Jim Lodes who both posted a 76 (+4). Gary Noble finished fourth shooting 77 (+5).  Goeke carded two birdies on the day.  In the net competition, Pat Goeke won with a 66 (-6), followed by Mike Findley with 70 (-2) and Jim Lodes with 71 (-1).

In the Open Division, Dave Cunningham took the win with a 74 (+2), defeating the eight-golfer field.  Nicholas Rehmer finished second with 77 (+5) and Luke Lutgen in third at 78 (+6).  Cunningham played solid on the front nine shooting even par (36), but double bogeyed hole number 14.

The Players Division consisted of a 25-golfer field led by Jim Thompson who fired a 73 (+1) including five birdies on the day. Chris Meyer finished runner-up posting 76 (+4), followed by Doug Flint at 77 (+5) and Jeff Mott with 79 (+7). In the net competition, Jim Thompson won shooting 70 (-2), edging the runner-up Doug Flint by one-stroke 71 (-1).

Five women battled the rainy weather in the women’s division, which was led by Addie Chapin who posted 85 (+13), followed by Jettie Bezek at 86 (+14).

Final results for the Stateline Amateur Tour at Adams Pointe can be found at http://www.ghintpp.com/kcga/TPPOnlineScoring/Default.aspx?id=538

The next Stateline Tour event is Tuesday, May 26 at The Nicklaus Club at Lionsgate. The entry deadline is Tuesday, May 19.

 

Bracket Set for Girls Match Play

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Taylor Black took the first step toward defending her Girls Match Play Championship on a beautiful afternoon at Swope Memorial.

Black fired an even par 36 on the front nine to secure the number one seed going into the match play portion of the event.

The quarterfinal matches will be played Saturday, May 2nd, immediately followed by the semifinals.

The final will be Sunday, May 3rd.

To see the bracket, click here!