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Ritchie and Martin Win 2023 Women’s Four Ball Championship

Ritchie and Martin Win 2023 Women’s Four Ball Championship

BOERNE – Entering Tuesday’s final round of the 2023 Women’s Four Ball Championship two shots behind the leaders, Emily Ritchie from Fair Oaks Ranch and Delaney Martin from Boerne came back to win the Championship after a 3-hole playoff against the formidable team of Brandee Fleming from Montgomery and Eryn Garza from Magnolia.

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Leaders: 

Delaney Martin will begin her senior year at Abilene Christian University and Emily Ritchie is a senior at Lee University. The hometown pair have been playing golf together for eleven years, their positive energy and local knowledge helped them capture the 2023 Women’s Four Ball Championship victory.

“It was great watching Delaney make 5 birdies, but I was itching to make a birdie,” said Emily Ritchie, “but my birdie on hole #18 to win was a good one,” she said with a laugh. Delaney said, “that putt was my favorite memory of the tournament.”

After 3 playoff holes, Martin and Ritchie came out victorious by making birdie on the 3^rd hole, #18, when Ritchie sunk the putt for the win.

In Contention: In the Championship Flight, Brandee Fleming from Montogomery and Eryn Garza from Magnolia fought hard, shooting an impressive two-day total of 137, 7-under par, earned them a spot in a playoff for the Championship. Fleming and Garza placed second after a three-hole playoff was won by Martin and Ritchie. Sidney Robertson from Tyler and Olivia Mitchell from Plano placed third after consistent play throughout the tournament and a two-day total of 139.

Flight Winners:

First Flight – Camm Dougherty from Corpus Christi and Meghan Moake from Houston won the First Flight by one-shot with a two-day total of 142 after they added a 1-under 71 on Tuesday. Meghan made two natural birdies.

Second Flight – Fair Oaks Ranch’s Vanessa Hersh and Andrea Davidson won the Second Flight by two shots with a two-day total of 169.

Third Flight – Katherine Biggs from Houston and Lorraine Werner from the Woodlands held on to their three-shot lead to claim the Third flight victory with a two-day total of 178.

Course: Fair Oaks Ranch Golf & Country Club is hosting the Women’s Four-Ball Championship for the first time. The last women’s event hosted at Fair Oaks Ranch Golf & Country Club was the 2018 Women’s Partnership. Designed by golf legend, Gary Player, the Blackjack course at Fair Oaks is an 18-hole championship golf course. The link-style golf course and the wind on the middle stretch of holes can provide a challenge for golfers of all skill levels.

Tournament History: The Women’s Four-Ball Championship is in its 16^th year on the schedule and is the fifth women’s statewide championship in 2023. The tournament is a 36-hole four-ball stroke play event with teams competing in two separate divisions, the Championship Division and the Flights Division. The ten teams with the lowest combined handicap indexes will be required to play from the championship tees. Those who do not wish to play in the championship division will be placed in the flights division and pre-flighted based on their combined handicap indexes.

POY Points Race: POY Points Race:  By winning, Emily Ritchie & Delaney Martin were awarded 450 points towards Statewide Player of the Year standings.

What’s Next: The TGA heads out to San Angelo for the Women’s Senior Stroke Play at Bentwood Country Club on September 18-20, 2023.

About the TGA: The Texas Golf Association was established in 1906 with a mission to promote the playing and advancement of the royal and ancient game of golf in Texas. The association is one of the most respected in the country with an ongoing commitment to its members, contestants, volunteers and all who strive to preserve the great traditions of the game.

For more information about the Women’s Four-Ball Championship, click here. To see all the scores from Fair Oaks Ranch Golf & Country Club, click here.