Though they experienced pretty much every type of weather possible on the course, several Mercer Island residents wrapped up a weeklong golfing tournament last Friday at Sahalee Country Club.
Participating in the Seattle Women’s Golf Association City Championships, 96 female golfers from around the area gathered to play. Each represented their home course in one of the longest running golfing tournaments in the area.
Held since 1927, the SWGA has only taken a short hiatus during World War II and has been going strong ever since. Thirteen courses around the area were represented by the players.
Joanie Fox, who is a member at the Seattle Golf and Country Club, and lives on Mercer Island, has been playing in the tournament for many years. She said while the weather this spring wasn’t perfect, it was far from unusual.
“We played last year at Meridian Valley, and I think it was even worse,” she said. “But we’re all Pacific Northwest golfers, and we all have great rain gear. This year I was very prepared after last year.”
From Mercer Island, Deni Sutherland and Sharon Falkner played, both as members of the Meridian Valley Country Club; Kathy Provazek entered from Fairwood Golf and Country Club; Kirsten Sandman played for Glendale Country Club; and Claudia Robbs is a member of Overlake Golf and Country Club.
The tournament was done in a medal play with qualifying rounds held on Monday. The following days consisted of matches based on flights Tuesday through Thursday. Friday’s championship flight was a 36 hole match.
In the final match of the tournament, Robbs was the runner up in the third flight, while Fox won on the 19th hole to win the fifth flight. She beat Sandman in the fifth flight of the day.
“I didn’t have my best tournament, but I played four matches and won two and lost two,” said Fox. She said many of the club teams regularly play against each other, so many of the ladies know each other and have played in the tournament for years, adding to the camaraderie of the event.