2005 GA-FL Women’s Team Matches

Georgia Tops Florida in 25th Annual Women's Team Matches

ADAIRSVILLE, Ga. - The Georgia team held off Florida to win 32-22 in the 25th annual Georgia-Florida Women's Team Matches, which took place at Barnsley Gardens in Adairsville, Ga., July 28-29. Georgia started the day with just a one-point advantage after the opening round and claimed the title by a ten-point margin with dominant play in Friday's 12 singles matches. The Nassau scoring format awards one point to the winner of each nine and one point for the overall match, with a half-point for any ties.

Georgia started the day off by tallying three points as Roswell's Margaret Shirley defeated her opponent soundly. Shirley won the front nine and then proceeded to card three birdies and an eagle on the back nine to close the door and gain three points for Team Georgia. However, in the day's second match, Ellen Dempsey of St. Simons Island dropped three points to Florida's Kim Goedecke of Tampa. Kyu Ri Ban of Duluth, competing in her first Georgia-Florida Women's Team Matches competition, fought back from three down at the turn to tally 1 1/2 points of her own. Macon's Christina Wentworth sank a 12-foot par putt on number nine to halve the front nine with Diane Lang of Weston, Fla. in match number five. Lang would, however, go one to win the back nine and the overall match. St. Simons Island's Cheryl Grigg and Greensboro's Ena Harvey were each shut out by their opponent's as Florida took an early lead on Georgia.

Georgia's fortunes would change however in the remaining six matches. Team Georgia tallied 17 1/2 of the remaining 18 points to capture the event. Claudeen Lindberg of Atlanta, the reigning two-time GSGA Senior Women's Player of the Year, swept Chris Epperly of Lady Lake, Fla. Kristen Bragg of Evans and Garrett Phillips of Saint Simons Island, teammates on the Augusta State University women's golf team, dispatched their competitors and each collected three points.  Augusta's Laura Coble, seven-time GSGA Women's Player of the Year, shutout Tampa's Monica Von Glahn and Acworth's Whitney Frykman, a member of the women's golf team at Purdue University, blanked Chistina Steffen of Fernandina Beach, Fla. Julie Bartholomew of Marietta, a rising junior at Vanderbilt University, won 2 1/2 points for Team Georgia. Bartholomew won the front nine, halved the back nine and held on to collect the point for the overall 18-hole win.

 

Georgia needed just 18 points to clinch the title at the start of play Friday morning.

Georgia, having now won the last four Women's Team Matches held in this state, reclaimed the title they lost last year at Black Diamond Ranch in Lecanto, Fla., 29-25. This was the 25th playing of the Georgia-Florida Women's Team Matches, which brings together the top women amateur golfers in the two neighboring states. Team members are selected by their state associations based on their performance in recent events. Florida now leads the all-time series 13-12.

GSGA conducts 18 statewide competitions for men and women of all age groups, three interstate matches and 17 USGA qualifying events each year. Other services include computerized handicapping, course rating and measuring, a summer-long junior sectional competitions program, Golf Georgia magazine and two college scholarship programs.

Final Points: Georgia 32, Florida 22

 
Second Round Points: Georgia 22 1/2, Florida 13 1/2 (Singles Matches)
Margaret Shirley (Ga.) def. Terell Italiano (Fla.), 3-0
Kim Goedecke (Fla.) def. Ellen Dempsey (Ga.), 3-0
Kyu Ri Ban (Fla.) halved with Mary Jane Hiestand (Fla.), 1 1/2 each
Nancy Smith (Fla.) def. Cheryl Grigg (Ga.), 3-0
Diane Lang (Fla.) def. Christina Wentworth (Ga.), 2 1/2-1/2
Sharon Keil (Fla.) def. Ena Harvey (Ga.), 3-0
Claudeen Lindberg (Ga.) def. Chris Epperly (Fla.), 3-0
Kristen Bragg (Ga) def. Susie Fonde (Fla.) 3-0
Julie Bartholomew (Ga.) def. Jennie Holloway (Fla.), 2 1/2-1/2
Garrett Philips (Ga.) def. Sarah Phillips-Durst (Fla.), 3-0
Laura Coble (Ga.) def. Monica Von Glahn (Fla.), 3-0
Whitney Frykman (Ga.) def. Chistina Steffen (Fla.), 3-0

First Round Points: Georgia 9 1/2, Florida 8 1/2 (Four-Ball Matches)
Kyu Ri Ban and Christina Wentworth (Ga.) def. Nancy Smith and Jennie Holloway (Fla.) 3-0
Margaret Shirley and Julie Bartholomew (Ga.) def. Christina Steffen and Sarah Phillips-Durst (Fla.), 3-0
Sharon Keil and Chris Epperly (Fla.) def. Ena Harvey and Claudeen Lindberg (Ga.), 2 1/2-1/2
Monica Von Glahn and Diane Lang (Fla.) def. Kristen Bragg and Whitney Frykman (Ga.), 3-0
Garrett Phillips and Cheryl Grigg (Ga.) halved with Terrell Italiano and Kim Goedecke (Fla.), 1 1/2-1/2
Laura Coble and Ellen Dempsey (Ga.) halved with Mary Jane Hiestand and Susie Fonde (Fla.), 1 1/2-1/2