GREENSBORO, Ga. – In a final round that saw eight of 12 singles matches go all 18 holes, Team Georgia held on to its lead to win the 31st annual Georgia-Florida Women’s Team Matches, 29-25, at Harbor Club. The two-day competition took place August 15-16.
Georgia, which led by just one point after the opening round four-ball matches (9 ½ to 8 ½), won seven of 12 singles matches and scored 19 ½ points on the final day to clinch the victory, halting Florida’s three-match win streak going back to 2008.
The second day of competition was almost as close as the first, with seven matches decided by a 1-up margin and one finishing All Square. Georgia picked up victories from Lacey Fears of Bonaire (1 up), Kimberly Graff of Lilburn (3 and 1), Cheryl Grigg of Sea Island (4 and 2 and a sweep of all three match points), Kaylee Random of Alpharetta (1 up), Amira Alexander of Alpharetta (1 up), Kathryn Fowler of Americus (4 and 3) and Lauren Court of Lawrenceville (3 and 1).
The remaining five members of Team Georgia also all contributed points towards the victory in the final round, including Laura Coble of Augusta, Sarah Butts of Carrollton, Ashlan Ramsey of Milledgeville, Susan Rheney of Greensboro, and Rachel Dai of Suwanee.
Both rounds of the competition were contested using the Nassau format, which awards one point to the winner of each of the nines as well as one point for the winner of the overall match.
This was the 31st playing of the Georgia-Florida Women’s Team Matches, which brings together the top women amateur golfers in the two neighboring states. The 12 team members are selected by their state associations based on their performance in recent events. Florida leads the all-time series 17-14.
Jodie Shepard of Newnan served as Georgia’s team captain, while Cheryl Drewyer, also of Newnan, was the vice captain.