Around the Green

The latest golf-related news, notes, and feature stories from the TGA.

2016 Women's Four-Ball Starts Tomorrow

The 2016 Women’s Four-Ball Championship begins tomorrow at the Hills Country Club in Austin, TX.  50 two-woman teams will vie for the title August 15-16.  An overall championship team will be crowned along with gross and net winners in each of five flights.  The Hills Country Club has previously hosted the 1998 WTGA State Amateur Championship and the 1989 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship. 

One-half of the defending championship team returns to defend her title.  2015 champion Jessica Surber from The Woodlands will pair with two-time WTGA State Amateur Champion  and recent Curtis Cup Captain Robin Burke.  The 2009 Champion, Carolyn Creekmore, and the 2011 Champion, Marian Barker will pair together and are also serious contenders.  To claim the title, however, they will have to defeat two-time winners Anna Schultz and Jewel Mallick (2008, 2014) and the rest of the exceptionally strong field.

The field includes two teams of teammates from TCU.  2015 WTGA State Amateur Champion Annika Clark teams up with Brooke McDougald and will go head-to-head with teammates Camry Tardy and Kelly McGovern.  Amber and Beryl Wang, sisters from Sugar Land, are also a strong team of collegians representing Princeton and Yale Universities respectively.  All together, the field includes seven teams with combined Handicap Indexes of scratch or better, led by the team of Sarah Kim and Kirsten Pike with a combined Handicap Index of +5.3.

2016 marks the 10th playing of the Women’s Four-Ball Championship and the 100th anniversary of the founding of the WTGA.  To celebrate this milestone, the association is hosting a year-long program to highlight the rich history of Texas women's golf.  The "Breaking 100" program includes a fundraising campaign featuring five players who have pledged to play 100 Holes of Women's Competition to gain support for the TGA Foundation's Women's Initiatives.  Three of the five players are in the Eclectic field and their 36 holes will put them closer to their goal.  The players include Horseshoe Bay’s Terry Dukes, Karen Northcutt (The Woodlands) and Nannette Wheelis (Waco).

Click here for complete tournament information and Round 1 pairings.