It may go without saying, but in team golf events, it helps immensely if everyone contributes.
Take the case of Tuesday’s 11th annual CWGA Club Team Championship. In a tournament in which each participating course is represented by A, B, C and D players, it was the highest handicapper who really came up big for the winning team from South Suburban Golf Course.
In the 18-hole competition held at Kissing Camels at the Garden of the Gods Club in Colorado Springs, South Suburban and the Greg Mastriona Golf Courses at Hyland Hills tied in regulation and went to a playoff.
And in sudden death, 27.5 handicap Peggy Christopherson sank a 12-foot par putt, helping South Suburban prevail by three strokes on the first playoff hole.
Asked if she thought the outcome might come down to her in sudden death, Christopherson laughed and said, “I’m a clutch player. I tend to perform better under pressure.”
Laugh though she might, Christopherson drew praise for coming through on the extra hole.
“She was crucial on the playoff hole — probably the key,” said teammate Claudia Gallegos.
Both South Suburban and Hyland Hills recorded 381 totals in regulation. And in a championship in which 11 teams finished within 10 shots of the winners, host Kissing Camels placed third at 383. Defending champion Canongate finished fourth at 384.
At the Club Team, the gross scores for a course’s A, B, C and D players are added together. In the case of South Suburban, Janine Lowe posted an 84 individually, Gallegos an 89, Diane Rae Miller a 97, and Christopherson a 111. (The champions are pictured above.) It was South Suburban’s first title in the Club Team, and all four representatives were competing in the event for the first time.
“It’s a great honor and a big deal for us to bring this home to our course,” noted Lowe, whose round included a birdie. “We have a lot of wonderful, great players playing out of South Suburban. We are very competitive in all our leagues.”
Lowe and Gallegos have won CWGA titles before — claiming victories in various flights of team events. But the Club Team takes on a little different complexion.
“There are bragging rights,” Christopherson said. “You keep the trophy for a whole year and you’re the only team that won.”
Placing second on Tuesday, as representatives of Hyland Hills, were Mary Lou Grooms, Odette Kleidon, Karen Bergert and Diane Voake.
The low individual score carded in the Club Team was an 8-over-par 79 by Vickie Brown of Canongate. Jill Gaschler of Willis Case was next best with an 80.
All told, 29 teams competed in the Club Team, the final event of the 2014 CWGA championship season.
For scores from the championship, CLICK HERE.
