Women's Senior Amateur Match Play Championship

Longwood, Fla. – It was Lin Culver who out lasted Suzanne Ricard to capture the victory of the Women’s Senior Match Play Championship on Wednesday. Additionally, Sandie St. Onge captured the victory of the inaugural Super-Senior Division. The last Women’s event of 2022 proved to be an exciting one with one round of qualifying stroke play for the Championship and Super-Senior divisions starting on Monday and matches to follow on Tuesday. In addition, the Middle and Forward played matches on Monday and Tuesday. Match elimination began after the afternoon matches on Tuesday with only a limited field left to compete for Wednesday.

Championship Division

It was an exciting week of stroke play and match play and included several turn of events across the week. It started with defending champion, Gigi Higgins capturing the number one seed after the first round of stroke play. Higgins carded a 76 securing her lead by only one stroke ahead of Tama Caldabaugh and Susie Keane who each posted scores of 77.

Tuesday’s matches were tight! Bronwyne Bruwer endured and defeated Higgins in the morning match, but it was Therese Quinn who ultimately outlasted Bruwer to advance to the semi-finals.

In addition, Mary Jane Hiestand defeated Marie Torti in 19 holes to face Lin Culver in the afternoon, however Culver overcame Hiestand two-up to advance the semi-finals and face Therese Quinn on Wednesday morning.

Culver prevailed and defeated Quinn 4&2 and Suzanne Ricard defeated Alexandra Frazier one-up on the eighteenth hole Tuesday afternoon. As a result, Culver and Ricard faced off in an exciting final championship match on Wednesday afternoon.

Lin Culver delivered some remarkable rounds and never gave up. Culver was one up on Ricard making the turn to the back nine in the final match on Wednesday afternoon. However, Ricard fought back to shift the match to all square after fourteen holes. Culver took the lead once again after making par on hole fifteen to move back to one-up. Ricard hit her tee shot a little right into a fairway bunker on hole sixteen while Culver’s drive sat left center of the fairway. Ricard hit a great shot out of the bunker onto the fringe about thirty feet past the hole. Each opponent two putted to make par and halve the hole. The match continued to remain tight the last two holes. Culver stuck it to fifteen feet on hole seventeen, a par three, and narrowly missed her birdie putt to halve the hole once again. Culver remained one-up heading into hole eighteen. She hit a perfect tee shot down the middle while Ricard hit her drive a little to the right forcing her to chip back out into the fairway. Culver made a par to close out the match two-up and capture the win.

Super-Senior Division

Sandie St. Onge dominated all week starting by securing the number one seed after posting a 78 in the first round of stroke play. Kathie Westlund captured the second seed trailing St. Onge by only four strokes. St. Onge continued her streak on Tuesday by defeating Christine Hunt in her morning match and Ruth Averback in her afternoon match. She then advanced to the finals on Wednesday to play against Kathie Westlund for the title. St. Onge triumphed and captured the first ever Super-Senior Match Play Championship Title.

Middle Division

In addition, Jennifer Eckensberger and Karen Carter of the Middle Division were victorious in their matches on Tuesday and faced each other in the finals on Wednesday morning. Carter defeated Eckensberger 2&1.

In the Middle First Division, Beth Sholar and Peggy Butts faced off in the finals and Sholar overcame Butts to capture the win 2&1. 

Forward Divison

Linda Jane Parson of the Forward Division defeated Jane Renninger in nineteen holes to capture the win.

Finally, in the Forward First Division, Sonia Frederick outlasted Christine Lovizio 3&2 to secure the division win.

Format

• Individual match play with consolation flights for all divisions
• Maximum Field Size - 80 players
• Championship Division will play gross match play
• Super-Senior Championship Division will play gross match play
• Middle and Forward Divisions will play net match play
• The Championship Division and the Super-Senior Championship Division will be seeded by an 18-hole stroke play seeding round
• Defending Champion receives the #1 seed if electing to play in the same division
• Middle and Forward Divisions will be pre-flighted and seeded by handicap index
• In the event of a tied match, the stipulated round extends to as many holes as are required for a match to be won

Eligibility

• Female amateur golfer
• At least 50 years of age as of the first day of the Championship
• At least 65 years of age as of the first day of the Championship to select to play in the Super-Senior Division at time of entry
• A valid Florida GHIN Handicap Index not exceeding 34.0
• Entrant is required to be a member of the FSGA

Entry Fee

• $195

Entry fee includes all competitive rounds of golf, tee gift, lunch after round 1, and gift certificate prizes. Late entries will be accepted subject to a $10 late fee should the entrant gain acceptance into the field.

Fine for Withdrawing

Due to the nature of this match play event, and to ensure that all players have a match to compete in, a player who withdraws during the competition (including the stroke play seeding round) will be assessed a $250 fine and will not be eligible for next year's championship. It is unfair to your fellow players who spend their own time and money to travel to the Championship, and are subsequently left to sit in their hotel room because another player has chosen to withdraw out of frustration or an undesired seeding position or first round loss. When entering the Championship, please take this into consideration. If you believe you cannot fulfill the tournament schedule, please leave the spot open for another player.

Schedule of Events

Monday, December 12th

• 7:00 - 9:30 AM - Tournament Registration
• 8:00 - 8:49 AM - Middle and Forward Divisions first round matches off #1 and #10 tees
• 9:00 - 10:03 AM Championship Divisions stroke play seeding rounds off #1 and #10 tees
• 9:27 - 10:03 AM Super-Senior Championship Division stroke play seeding rounds off #10 tee

Tuesday, December 13th

• 8:00 - 8:49 AM Championship Division first round matches off #1 and #10 tees
• 8:56 - 9:17 AM Super-Senior Championship Division first round matches off #1 and #10 tees
• 9:24 - 10:13 AM Middle and Forward Divisions second round and consolation matches off #1 and #10 tees
• 12:00 PM - Player luncheon immediately following play
• 12:30 PM (approx.) - Championship Division second round matches and consolation matches
• 1:30 PM (approx.) - Super-Senior Championship Division semifinal and consolation matches

Wednesday, December 14th

• 8:00 - 8:49 AM Championship Division semifinal and consolation matches off #1 tee
• 8:56 - 9:17 AM Super-Senior Championship Division championship round and consolation matches off #1 tee
• 9:24 - 10:13 AM Middle and Forward Division championship round and consolation matches off #1 tee
• 12:30 PM approx. - Championship Divisions championship round and consolation matches off #1 tee

Exempt Criteria 

The previous year's Champion and Runner-Up will be held a spot until November 1, 2022. 

Entry Priority Guidelines 

The following players have entry priority provided they submit an entry prior to the entry priority deadline of November 1, 2022. The FSGA will hold 32 spots for the Championship and 16 spots for the Super-Senior Championship Divisions until November 1st, after which, entries will be accepted based upon order of receipt. 

• Quarterfinalists from last year's Women's Senior Amateur Match Play Championship
• Last 5 Women's Senior Amateur Champions
• The low senior amateur from the current year's Florida Women's Senior Open
• Top 10 players and tied from the current year's Women's Senior Player of the Year Points List
• Any player qualifying for the current year's U.S. Senior Women's Open Championship
• Any player qualifying for the current year's U.S. Senior Women's Amateur Championship
• Committee Exemptions

After the Entry Priority Deadline

• Entries received after the entry priority deadline of November 1, 2022, will be accepted based upon order of receipt. 

After the Close of Entries

• Entries received after the competitive field is full or after the close of entries, will be placed on an alternates list. Alternates will be contacted in the order of receipt of entry, if and when, a spot becomes available. 

The FSGA may hold an undisclosed number of spots for exceptional circumstances.

Divisions & Course Set-Up

Championship Division (Gross Only) - 5,600-5,800 yards approx.

• One flight of sixteen (16) players
• Two flights of eight (8) players each

Super-Senior Championship Division - 5,200-5,400 yards approx.

• Two flights of eight (8) players each

Middle Division (Net Only) - 5,200-5,400 yards approx.

• Two flights of eight (8) players each

Forward Division (Net Only) - 4,700-4,900 yards approx.

• Two flights of eight (8) players each

In order to eliminate byes and accommodate match play brackets, the Committee reserves the right to adjust the number and size of flights in each division based on groups of eight (8) entries.

Suggested Handicap Guidelines

The following should be considered when selecting divisions:

• Championship Division - 10.0 and Under
• Super-Senior Championship Division - 14.0 and Under
• Middle Division - 7.0 -14.0
• Forward Division - 15.0 and Over

Committee Discretion: The Championship Committee reserves the right to move any player out of the Forward Division if their handicap is significantly lower than the majority of the competitors in that division, and their scoring history does not reflect the need to play from the Forward Division yardage.

Alternate Lists

• Once a division has reached maximum capacity, subsequent entries for that division will be placed on a list of alternates for that division based upon order of receipt
• There will be a list of alternates for each division - alternates are then used to replace any players who withdraw from that division prior to the competition

Seeding and Flighting

Players will be flighted and seeded based on the following criteria:

Championship Division

• The Championship Division will be seeded based on their round one stroke play seeding round score.
  • Defending Champion receives the #1 seed if electing to play in the same division
• There will be a hole-by-hole play-off to determine the 16th seed in the Championship flight.
• All other seeding ties will be broken by lot.

Super-Senior Championship Division

• The Super-Senior Championship Division will be seeded based on their round one stroke play seeding score.
• There will be a hole-by-hole play-off to determine the eighth seed in the Championship flight. 
• All other seeding ties will be broken by lot.

Middle and Forward Division

• Middle and Forward Divisions will be flighted and seeded by their respective handicap index.
• In the case of a handicap tie, the Committee will decide by lot.
• For example, a player in the Middle First Flight has the lowest handicap of her flight of eight. She will earn the number one (1) seed for the Championship.
• Once pairings are posted, if there is a withdrawal, flights will NOT be reseeded. Rather, the alternate will assume the position and seed of the withdrawn player.

Handicap Requirements

• All valid Florida GHIN Handicap Indexes used will be from 7 days prior to the championship start date.
• Each player must have a valid Florida GHIN Handicap Index no higher than 34.0. 
• Players in the Middle and Forward Divisions will play to 95% of their lowest index (LI) starting on January 1, 2022.

It is the responsibility of any player that maintains a Handicap Index lower than her current Florida GHIN Handicap Index to inform the FSGA for resolution. Failure to do so will result in disqualification.

Practice Rounds

Practice rounds are available one week prior to the Championship on a space available basis and after 12:00 PM the weekend before. The price for a practice round is $50.00 + tax and includes cart and range balls prior to the round. Please call 407-842-1452 to arrange your practice round. The proper place to practice your golf swing is on the driving range, hitting multiple shots on the course is unacceptable.

Defending Champion 

Gigi Higgins hoisted the trophy at the final FSGA women’s championship for the 2021 season. Higgins took home the win on Thursday at the Women's Senior Amateur Match Play Championship at Southern Hills Plantation Club. Higgins and Marion Reid, of Lakeland, faced off in the championship match on Thursday afternoon, after the morning semifinal matches. Higgins took the first lead of the day on the ninth hole. Higgins made the only birdie of the day on hole 15 to extend her lead to 2-up going into hole 16. It was a solid par on hole 17 that would secure the 2-and-1 victory for Higgins, her first FSGA championship win 2021.

Click here for previous year's results

Other Policies

• Spectator and Spectator Cart Policy - Click here.
• Caddies - Caddies are allowed in all FSGA Championships except Junior events. However, a player must not use a parent, step-parent or guardian as a caddie. The caddie MUST walk and the player MUST ride, with the player’s clubs remaining on the golf cart. Click here.
• Championship Pace of Play Policy - Click here.
• Local Rules and Terms of Competition - Click here.
• Championship Policies - Click here to read the withdrawal, dress code, and other policies.
• Procedures for Alternates - Click here for information on how alternates may gain entry into this Championship.
• Conditions/ Schedule - The FSGA Championships Committee/on-site Rules Committee reserves the right to alter any of the conditions, provisions and/or schedules.  The decision of the Championships Committee/on-site Rules Committee in any matter will be final..

Host Hotel

Courtyard Orlando Lake Mary/North
135 International Parkway
Lake Mary, FL 32745
(407) 444-1000

Book your room HERE! 

Payment

The Legacy Club at Alaqua Lakes accepts all major credit cards as method of payment. No cash.

Directions

The Legacy Club at Alaqua Lakes
1700 Alaqua Lakes Boulevard
Longwood, FL 32779
(407) 842-1452

Click here for directions.