RRWGA annual Match Play Invitational

Mary Beninato

The 11th annual Match Play Tournament, chaired by Sallye Ortiz and Susan Miloser, kicked off with a great pairings night the Friday before. It was held at Mike and Susan Miloser’s home with drinks and snacks to help keep the crowd quiet (maybe) during the pairings. The 72 participants were RRWGA and MGA members. Each team had 12 players flighted by handicap into six A-F flights. Players were then randomly drawn from the flights for the six team colors to be worn during play. Pairings were also randomly drawn.

We had two beautiful days of weather! Play began the first day with nine holes of alternate shots and nine holes of scramble. The second day competition was individual stroke play with different opponents on each nine holes. Each nine holes of play is awarded one point for wins. In Match Play, this can also lead to a tie to split the one point. This is one of the most fun tournaments of the year and you never know what will happen.

At the end of the Tuesday round, everyone congregated on the patio for drinks and appetizers as we watched players finish coming up 18. Once completed, lunch of fried chicken, potato salad and baked beans was served. The big finale dessert was make your own old-fashioned banana splits with all of the fixings.

A big thank you to Rhett, Jeremy and Aubrey for all their wonderful work with the RRWGA and this tournament. Also, a big thank you to David Thatcher and his staff and groundskeepers for their hard work.

Photos were supplied by Diane Bent and Donna Phillips, even though Donna was playing and trying to help her team win. Thank you!

The winning teams were:

1st Place – Pink Team: A, Rod Brehm and Gil Ortiz; B, Dennis Stewart and George Cummings; C, Susan Miloser and Cindy Sterling; D, Joyce Marshall and Cyndi Stampf; E, Betty Lou Knowles and Cindy Bass; F, Sue Halsted and Carole Babcock

2nd Place – Blue Team: A, Jack Hayes and Jim Gorney; B, Roy Gay and Jay Markley; C, Lee Murphy and Althea Parent; D, Joy Pashby and Lavelle Carlson; E, Donna Phillips and Pam Kanawyer; F, Judy Cromer and Maureen Fitzgerald