New tradition started at Stoughton
CENTER TWP — The Solheim Cup is women's golf's version of the Ryder Cup, pitting the best pro golfers from Europe against those from the United States.
Two local women's leagues — the Lady Duffers and Twisted Tees — decided to get together Tuesday to hold their own version of that event.
“Once I learned what the Solheim Cup was all about, I thought it'd be fun to do something like that here,” Lady Duffers golfer Shelley Milich said.
Karen Perry is the president of the Lady Duffers, which plays Monday evenings at Stoughton Acres. She also formed the Twisted Tees league, which plays Tuesdays at Slippery Rock Golf Club.
“Karen was the perfect person to get the two leagues together to do this,” Milich said.
The Lady Duffers have 32 golfers. The Twisted Tees have 44. Eight golfers from each league participated in this inaugural county version of the Solheim Cup.
“We started out asking the top handicapped players from each league to participate,” Perry said. “If someone couldn't make it, we asked the next golfer in line.”
The league representatives went head-to-head for nine holes at Stoughton Acres. The first three holes were played by alternating shots. The middle three holes were best ball. The final three holes were played in a scramble format.
The competition came down to the wire with the Lady Duffers claiming a 19-17 decision. Milich had golf towels monogrammed with the words “Solheim Cup 2021” for the participants.
Representing the Lady Duffers were Perry, Julie Powell, Sue Weigle, MaryClare Habenicht, Puttu Bhat, Tammy Rape, Tricia Koebler and Milich.
Representing the Twisted Tees were Kim Buchanan, Brandi Ealy, Donna Ifft, Donna McClymonds, Karen Douthett, Cheryl Hartshorne, Jeanne Gamble and Robin Christy.
The Lady Duffers wore red, the Twisted Tees blue.
“It was so much fun and it was great competition,” Milich said. “We'll do it again next year, but it will be at Slippery Rock's golf course. We had a bit of a home course advantage this year.
“I'm hoping we can play 18 holes next year instead of nine. We started this event at 4:15 p.m. and we only had so much daylight to work with.”
Some golfers play in both leagues and had to choose a side to play for.
“We tried to match the teams up as evenly and fairly as we could,” Perry said. “That worked out well.
“We didn't have a trophy to give out this year as this was organized a little late for that. We should have something for next year.
“This was good for local women's golf and everyone involved had a great time. I'm sure this will become an annual thing now,” Perry added.
