The LPGA Golf Amateurs Birmingham Chapter kicked off their year in style with their annual potluck lunch on Saturday, January 25th. Aptly named “Birds of a Feather Golf Together,” the event was an exciting and vibrant start to the 2025 golf season.

Lisa Crean, the Chapter’s Membership Director, created a whimsical and fun flamingo-themed décor that was an absolute hit. Her attention to detail brought a light-hearted touch to the gathering, making it a memorable experience for all who attended.

The potluck lunch itself was a true feast! Members brought their favorite dishes to share, creating a delicious spread that offered something for everyone. The shared meal was not just a celebration of good food, but also of the community and camaraderie that define the Birmingham Chapter.

Throughout the event, the Board Officers took the opportunity to share exciting updates about upcoming league play, golf outings, social events, and future competitions. The group’s leadership includes Patti Williams (Chapter President), Kim Jones (Golf Events Director), Jane McGriff (Competitive Chair), Sylvia Sumners (Chapter Championship Chair), Lisa Crean (Membership Director), Jennifer Gowers (Marketing Director), and Annette McDevitt (Sponsorship Chair), each of whom brought their unique perspective and energy to the gathering.

During their updates, the officers emphasized the growth of the chapter, now at 100 members. This milestone is a remarkable achievement and a testament to the dedication and passion of the women in the group, as well as the strength of the organization. As the year progresses, the Chapter is gearing up for an exciting calendar of events, competitions, and social outings that promise to bring even more opportunities for members to connect and enjoy the game of golf together.

For those interested in staying in the loop, members are encouraged to keep an eye on their emails and the Chapter’s Facebook group page for all event details and announcements.

The LPGA Golf Amateurs Birmingham Chapter is eager to dive into another year of golf, fun, and friendship, and everyone is excited to see where the year will take them. With a growing, engaged membership and a leadership team dedicated to providing enriching experiences, the future looks bright for this vibrant group of women in golf!

Ladies,

How quickly 2024 has come to an end for us!  I think my mother was correct when she said, “times goes by even faster the older you get.” It seems like just a few weeks ago we were having our January ‘24 renewal event and now it is time for 2025!

The Board hopes you have enjoyed this past year’s golf events and social gatherings.  We slightly changed things up a bit and plan to change things a little more in 2025.  Please plan on attending the January 25th event to find out what is on the horizon.

We ended this year with our 30th celebration at Seasons 52.  To my knowledge, we had the largest attendance at an event than any in my past. This was not just a “normal” event; yet an opportunity to revisit history which had not been talked about in a while.  I feel it is so important to remember where we have come from and where we want to continue to grow. Special shout out to Sylvia Sumners for being such a good archivist! 

To revisit our Golf winners for 2024:

Chapter Champion = Melanie Smith. Mel, I hear there are people gunning for you in 2025!

MPM First Flight = Courtney Williams

         Second Flight =Angela Hoskins

         Third Flight =Kathy Whitfield

Non-golf recognitions:

Carolyn King Participation Award: Lisa Crean

Sylvia Sumners Spirit Award: Suntaree Wainwright

Congratulations to all!

So, rest up in the next few weeks.  Enjoy your loved ones and celebrate this Holiday season in whatever way you choose and set your golf goals for 2025! 

See you soon!

Patti

September 3rd was the 2024 Ladies’ Fall Two-Person Scramble put on by the Alabama Golf Association. The venue was the RTJ at Grand National in Auburn, AL on the Lake Course.

Suntaree Wainwright & Jane McGriff were the only LPGA Amateurs that participated but they made a good showing – winning 1st Place Low Net in the 3rd Flight. It was a nice day on a beautiful course – played with very fun competitors.

September turned out to be perfect for our 2024 Chapter Championship, great weather in the high 60’s, a beautiful blue sky and a golf course that welcomed us.  Not to mention 31 of our members coming out to compete in their respective flights.  And of course, a great lunch following play.

This year we had 4 flights of stroke play and 3 scramble teams competing for honors in their flights:

Flight 1:  Melanie Smith, Dina Murray, Pia Todora, Courtney Williams

Winners:  Gross: Melanie Smith with a score of 78   2024 Chapter Champion

                    Net: Dina Murray with a net score of 76

Flight 2:  Anne Yuengert, Eleanor Strickland, Barbee Bryant, Suntaree Wainwright, Laura Johnson, Jennifer Whitaker, Jane McGriff

Winners:  Gross: Barbee Bryant with a score of 80

                    Net: Jane McGriff with a net score of 74

Flight 3:  Patti Reid, Anne Rankin, Judy McChester-Nedd, Tammy Dunn

Winners:  Gross: Patti Reid with a score of 94

                    Net: Anne Rankin with a net score 79

Flight 4:  Lisa Crean, Jackie Plott, Madge Gregg, Linda Stockton

Winners: Gross:  Lisa Crean with a score of 108

                Net:  Madge Gregg with a net score of 81

Scramble Teams:

Team 1:  Gail Morgan (captain), Dorothy Lynam, Christina Grinkmeyer, Sylvia Sumners

Team 2:  Kim Jones (captain), Allison Allison, Andress Blackwell, Patti Williams

Team 3:  Abby Salem (captain), Jennifer Causey, Kelsi Ertman, Tracy Lambrecht

Winners:  First Place: Team 2 with net score of 59

                Second Place: Team 3 with net score of 63

Closest to the Pin: Barbee Bryant - #8 Brook

In addition, we had a fun raffle for two gift baskets and 4 balloons stuffed with money for the lucky winner.  We raised $600 for sponsorship funds for our chapter.  A great big thank you from your Sponsorship team.  These funds will help to decrease your cost for future events.

Your Chapter Championship Team hopes you enjoyed the tournament this year:

Sylvia Sumners, Jane McGriff, Pia Todora, Jennifer Gowers

Save the date! June 5, 2025!  The Annual Willow Point Invitational takes place the first Thursday in June.  This year The LPGA Amateurs Birmingham Chapter had 6 representatives:  Angela Nash, Patti Reid, Jane McGriff, Betty Ewen, Regan Currie and Suntaree Wainwright.  If you haven’t had a chance to play Willow Point, mark your calendar for next year!

The Birmingham Chapter did well.  Jane & Suntaree took 1st and 2nd in Flight 3.

Hope to see you all there next year!

Waking up in the morning on St. Patrick’s Day with a fear of bad weather, I have been checking up on the forecast constantly throughout the week.  The weather had been worrying me. But the show must go on, because it would be difficult to move to another day if the golf kickoff event had to be rescheduled. I hope it wouldn’t come to that…!

Fortunately, the weather seemed to be on our side on that morning.  The weather forecast showed that rain moved out during the time our kickoff started. I felt relieved! One frustration was down!

Another frustration popped up when I arrived at the golf course. I checked in with the staff at the clubhouse to confirm the course rotation. It turned out the course rotation was changed from Brook/Windmill to Windmill/Graveyard. Well! I needed to let everyone know about the change. Sending an email to the group from the phone was a tad bit challenging. It was a different platform compared to the computer. It would take me a while to get that done before everybody arrived…!

Additionally, the course condition was so wet and muddy since it rained during the week. The golf cart rule was cart path only. It was a challenge for some since the fairway was so soggy and hitting in mud was no fun!! But everyone seemed to enjoy the event even though the conditions were not great! 

I was so worried that someone might drop out due to the weather. But everyone committed to this event. Initially, there were 28 ladies signing up but 2 dropped out due to sickness. Finally, we ended up with 26 participants with two teams of threesomes and five teams of foursomes.

Team 1

Regan Currie

Suntaree Wainwright

Patti Williams

Team 2

Tammy Dunn

Karen Larsen

Karla Young

Team 3

Nancy Blackledge

Gail Morgan

Anne Rankin

Team 4

Kelsi Ertman

Jennifer Gowers

Abby Salem

Courtney Williams

Team 5

Lisa Crean

Kim Jones

Eleanor Strickland

Linda Stockton

Team 6

Beth Curry

Laura Johnson

Linda Malone

Carol Spain

Team 7

Madge Gregg

Jane McGriff

Sylvia Sumners

Jennifer Whitaker

Scramble Team Winners

First place: Team 2-Tammy Dunn, Karen Larsen, and Karla Young

Second place: Team 7-Madge Gregg, Jane McGriff, Sylvia Sumners, and Jennifer Whitaker

Closest to the Pin:

Windmill - Hole #5- Sylvia Sumners

Windmill - Hole #7- Tammy Dunn

Graveyard - Hole # 3-Madge Gregg

Graveyard - Hole # NO ONE AKA the “Bless our Hearts”

Best St. Patrick’s Costume Contest

Participants-Beth Curry, Madge Gregg, Anne Rankin, and Eleanor Strickland

Winner: Eleanor Strickland

Congratulations to all winners!! Thank you to all who participated in this event! All of you are awesome!

Special thanks to Karen Larsen! She donated her cash prize to Girls Golf!!

I hope everyone had a great time…!! See you next year!

Suntaree Wainwright

Director of Golf Events

The Regions Tradition will be May 8-14, 2023, at Greystone's Founders Course.

Our LPGA Birmingham Chapter (EWGA Chapter) has marshalled Hole 1 for many years and this is quite a privilege for us. At this time we need more volunteers and I am asking you to please volunteer.

When you register, register for Hole 1, LPGA Amateurs. The password is hole1. Your hole captain is Sylvia Sumners, ssumners@bellsouth.net, 205-482-5680 for questions. You cannot use your login from 2022, you must re-register.

All volunteers are required to work a minimum of 3 shifts over the course of the week/weekend if you want the free round of golf at Greystone. Shifts are approximately 4-6 hours long, but can vary depending on the committee. Volunteers are welcome to work more than 3 shifts or less than 3 shifts if they would like.

Volunteer perks package:

• One Foot Joy volunteer polo

• Ball cap or visor

• Volunteer commemorative pin

• Volunteer credential (valid for event entry entire week)

• 5 Good-Any-One-Day grounds tickets to give to guests

• Parking pass

• One-time use of 20% off at the tournament merchandise tent

• Meals provided while on shift

• Transferable round of golf on the Legacy or Founders Course during a volunteer play day to be held post tournament
  

Volunteers so far:
Norma Dodd
Judy McChester-Nedd
Jane McGriff
Gail Morgan S
Sylvia Sumners
Jay Thompson

If you have signed up and I do not have you listed please let me know

Sylvia – ssumners@bellsouth.net, 205-482-5680

We are excited that there is an upcoming Epson Tour event coming to our area and your LPGA Amateurs ID will grant you complimentary access for you and a guest!  If your schedule allows, please plan to come support the best women golfers in the world!

Tuscaloosa Toyota Classic, Tuscaloosa AL

Sept 29 – Oct 1

Check out the details on the Tournament Website

Click here for the complete LPGA Tour schedule.  Click here for the complete Epson Tour schedule.

Let's get this party started!

When: Sunday April 2nd, 2023
Tee times starting at 1:30 pm

Where: Woodward Golf and Country Club
Entry fee: $50 per player and includes the golf round and meal

Format: Team of foursomes with 3-3-3: Scramble, Alternate, and Shamble
Field size: Maximum of 36 players

Prizes: Winning places based on the filed size and closest to the pins for 2 holes of par 3

Deadline to sign up: Saturday March 25th, 2023

Questions? Contact Suntaree Wainwright, text 205.842.8600 or email: sunwainwright@gmail.com

Sign Up through the website, or below for this is a member's only event!

**When signing up, go to the “Register Now for 2023…” Button at the top left of the page. Ignore the dropdown menu of names. Thanks!

Two of our LPGA Amateur members made EAGLES in the past week!

During our Golf Kickoff at Highlands (March 27) - Earlie Simmons sunk a long putt on Hole #2 for an eagle!

On April 2, during our weekend league on the RTJ Valley course – Regan Currie sank her approach shot on Hole #17 from over 70 yards away for an eagle. #17 is an elevated green so that none of us saw it go in the hole. When we got up to the green and started looking for her neon red ball….we finally decided to look in the hole…and there it was!

Congratulations to Earlie and Regan!!

Over the weekend of September 18 & 19 the long-anticipated Atlanta/Birmingham Challenge was played on the RTJ Grand National, Lake Course, in Opelika. A fun rivalry for over twenty years, the Challenge is a 2-day match play tournament involving four golf formats: scramble, alternate shot, best ball and singles. Just as in the Solheim and Ryder Cups – each team consists of 12 players.

The team hosting the event alternates each year and this year was Birmingham’s turn. Following our practice rounds on Friday, we had our usual meet & greet with the Atlanta team. As always, it was great to see our old friends and meet the “rookies.” Rules were discussed and a bit of good-natured trash talk could be overheard!

Even more than tournament jitters, everyone’s main concern was the weather. The forecast was for rain, rain, and more rain… and rain it did – but mainly at night and in the early mornings. The good news was that we were able to play each day -- the bad news was that it was Cart Path Only and very muddy and wet. Moving your ball out of “standing water” was a constant activity!

For the most part, this year, the Birmingham team had lower handicaps than the Atlanta team - which meant that we had the pleasure of giving them LOTS of strokes. After Saturday’s round, Atlanta led by one point. However, on Sunday, Birmingham was able to turn the tables and won this year’s Challenge 16 to 14 – holding onto the trophy for another year!

Despite the sloshy weather, it was a great tournament and a good time was had by all!

Postscript: If you are interested in playing in this event – Qualifier rounds will be held in late Spring or early Summer 2022.