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9-4-09
Team Wisconsin finished 17th in the eighth Women’s State Team Championship on Thursday afternoon. The biennial United States Golf Association event was held this week at Sycamore Hills CC in Fort Wayne, Ind.
The team from Georgia won the title with a score of 4-over-par 436 to become the only state to win the Women’s State Team Championship more than once. Georgia also won in 2005.
Nine strokes behind Georgia was runner-up Alabama with a score of 445. Hawaii finished third at 447. Wisconsin’s final score was 474.
Defending champion Arizona, who won its title in 2007, finished 21st at 483.
Forming the Wisconsin team were Rheba Mabie of Wausau, Maggie Leef of Brookfield and Vicky Vandenbrook of Fitchburg.
Entering the final round, Wisconsin was tied for 18th place thanks to some steady play by Mabie, and then she raised her game another notch on Thursday. Mabie led the team with scores of 78-81-73–232, and in the process tied for 16th place among individuals, followed by Leef (79-84-79–242) and Vandenbrook (93-88-92–273).
The medalist also hailed from Georgia, as Dori Carter, 22, of Valdosta, Ga., was the only player to finish under par at 2-under 214 (69-76-69). In fact, all three players from Georgia landed in the top 11 individuals. Mariah Stackhouse of Riverdale, Ga., who finished sixth (74-78-70–222), and Laura Coble of Augusta, Ga., who finished 11th (74-78-75–227), rounded out the winning team.
Each participating state fields a team of three amateur players for the 54-hole competition, and the two lowest scores each day are used to calculate the team scores. Under NCAA rules, college golfers are not eligible.
This year the event attracted teams from 48 states and the District of Columbia. North Dakota, Vermont and Puerto Rico could have fielded teams but did not. The only time all 50 states competed was the 2007 championship.
Wisconsin finished 23rd in 2007 with a team consisting of Mabie, Jan Krebs of Junction City and Katie Falk of Milwaukee.
Beginning in 2010, the men’s and women’s team championships will be held in alternate years, with the men playing in 2010 and the women in 2011. Both the men’s and women’s competitions were initiated in 1995.
This year’s Men’s State Team Championship will be held Sept. 23-25 at The Country Club of St. Albans in St. Albans, Mo. The last time around, in 2007, the Wisconsin men tied for 22nd. The team consisted of Pat Boyle of Racine, Matt Behm of Janesville and Bob Gregorski of Menasha.
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