2013 City Women’s Championship

Bing Maloney Golf Course June 1,2 29,30

The Sacramento Golf Council proudly announces the results of the 78 th Annual Sacramento City Women’s Golf Championship. The Council wishes to thank each and every player that participated in the event as well as all the staff and volunteers from the Council and from Morton Golf at Bing Maloney that helped make this another wonderful golf tournament. 56 ladies started the weekend with 36 in the Championship Flight, playing at gross, and 20 women in the President’s and Director’s Flight, playing at net. The Championship Flight played from the gold tees at about 5900 yards and the handicap flights played from the red tees at about 5300 yards.

Sean Wong, tournament director, would like to especially thank all the spectators and players for braving 105+ degree heat on each day of the tournament and hopes he got enough water out on the course. Special thanks also to Greg Bisi, Mike Fleming, Ross Martin, Carissa Shubb and Dorothy Trevethick for their work on the tournament. As one can tell from the scores, the heat did not impede the quality of play as there were many players under par both gross and net each day.

On the first day, Alexandra Wong of San Francisco, a member of the Princeton University Women’s Golf Team, blistered the course with a 7 under par 66 that included multiple chip-ins and also holed out shot from the bunker on Hole 12 for eagle. This tied the tournament record at Bing Maloney, shared with Big Break semi-finalist and three time Sac City Women’s Champion, Christina Stockton, and with entering Oklahoma State Golf Team freshman and also three time defending Sac City Women’s Champion, Casie Cathrea. It should be noted that Casie was unable to participate and defend her title because she was a little busy earning the Low Amateur medal at the 68 th Annual US Women’s Open Golf Championship in Sebonack, NY.

Trailing Alexandra in the first round was Marissa Mar, from El Macero, a member of the Stanford Women’s Golf Team and Cyna Rodriguez, from Manilla, The Philippines, who each shot four under par rounds of 69. Cyna recently won the 2013 South Australian Women’s Amateur Golf Championship and was a former member of the USC Lady Trojans Golf Team, which won the NCAA championship in May.

A record nine women shot under par rounds on Saturday, including Alexandra’s sister Andrea Wong, a key member of the UC Davis Women’s Golf Team, Sagee Palavivatana from Sacramento State, Paige Lee of Folsom, recent graduate of Granite Bay HS and UC Davis Golf Team signee, Clare Sorensen from Roseville and Seattle University, and Sara Banke of Danville and Taryn Yee of Sacramento, teammates on the UC Irvine Women’s Golf Team.

On the second day, the scores were very tight and the competition was fierce. Alexandra maintained her three shot lead, tearing up the front nine with a four under par 32 that included birdies on Holes 2, 5, and 7. Cyna matched her front nine with birdies on 3 and 9 and an eagle on 6. Marissa was also hanging tough with a 33, but she couldn’t maintain her momentum on the back nine, shooting a 72 to finish fourth at five under par. Sagee, in the final group, never could mount a charge, but she played solid, firing a final round 71 to finish fifth at 4 under par.

Meanwhile, Clare Sorensen, in the foursome immediately in front of the leaders was joining the fight with six birdies on the front nine at Holes 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 9. Clare’s scorecard showed a roller coaster day that included 9 birdies, 5 bogeys and only 4 pars, but she still posted the low round of the day with a 69. On the back nine, the tournament turned at Hole 10, when Alexandra misclubbed and missed the green, making a double and had another double bogey on Hole 11. Cyna bogeyed nine and parred 10, but suddenly she was tied for the lead. Clare actually seized control of the lead with three straight birdies on Holes 11, 12 and 13, but dropped back with bogeys on 14, 15 and 17 to finish third at 6 under. Cyna seized control of the lead with birdies on 14 and 17 that gave her a two shot cushion over Alexandra going into the final hole, but the tournament suddenly made another turn when Cyna three putted from five feet after Alexandra missed a four foot birdie putt. That meant that after 36 holes in the smothering heat, we Alexandra and Cyna had to tee it up again in a sudden death playoff starting at Hole 17. Cyna, emboldened by her earlier birdie just a half hour earlier, birdied 17 again after Alexandra missed her birdie attempt to take the crown. Cyna is the first foreign Sacramento City Women’s champion and she was quite gracious in victory hoping that the title will boost her chances at the US Women’s Amateur qualifier in Washington later in the week.

Her coach, Nestor Mendoza, was so impressed with the tournament that he vowed to bring more women from Asia to next year’s tournament and he signed up four juniors to play in next month’s Sacramento City Junior Golf Championship at the Mackenzie Course at Haggin Oaks at the end of the month.

Before Cyna sank her winning birdie putt, the Council also crowned new champions in the handicap divisions earlier in the day. In the President’s Flight, ladies with handicaps ranging from 11 to 18, Cindy Dichiara of Carmichael showed that she likes to play in the heat with two eight under net scores of 65 to easily win the $150 Morton Golf award certificate over Pat Greenhaw of Sacramento.

In the Director’s Flight, ladies with handicaps from 19 and above, Sunny Sawyer, also from Carmichael, fired two solid rounds of 68 and 67 to edge June Kitapan of Fairfield to also win a $150 Morton Golf award card. Most of the ladies seemed please with the decision to play from the forward red tees, which helps with the pace of play and with greens in regulations. Next year’s handicap flights will also play from the red tees.

In the President’s Net Flight, Cindy Dichiara won by five strokes at 130. The Director’s Flight First Place is Sunny Sawyer, at 135, also by five strokes.