The Chapter recently named a Handicap Committee for 2026 made up of Kris Corbridge, Vicki Philpott and Ramona Marshall.  You can find information about handicaps on the Education page of the Website but you might want to read..."Posting Your Scores" first.

Sacramento Chapter member Ramona Marshall has been on a roll this summer and she may have a few more wins to go before she is finished with 2026.  

So far...at the 91st Sacramento City Amateur Women's Golf Championship on June 27-28 at Bing Maloney Golf Course, Ramona places 1st in the Handicap Division.

And...at the 85th Sacramento City Mixed Team Championship at Bing Maloney Golf Course on August 2nd, Ramona and her playing partner Lawrence Menard win the trophy!

Member Focused Learning

This is the second member focus article from the 2026 LPGA Amateurs Sacramento Education Committee.   May we each take a nugget of information that helps our game, our joy and our relationships this year.  See previous MFL articles on the chapter site education page.

From 156 to Champion: The Remarkable Golf Journey of Vicki Philpott

By Jerilyn Paik

July 29, 2026

When Vicki Philpott teed it up in the 2026 NCGA Super Senior Championship, she wasn't thinking about trophies or titles. She was simply focused on the next shot. 

That mindset paid off. Vicki captured the championship and added another remarkable chapter to a golf journey that began decades ago with a set of clubs, a few coworkers, and what she calls "love at first play." 

I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Vicki over brunch to talk about golf, leadership, friendship, and the lessons she's learned along the way.   Read More...

By Marcia Whiting, Golf Events Director

Despite the heat, we had some great scores turned in Saturday at Lincoln Hills.  And, a couple of changes at the top of the Sacramento River Series (SRS) leaderboard.

Our format for the day – Fixed Score – 1 point for every net par.  Golf Genius assigned random partners – both partners ball scored on every hole.  Therefore, the maximum possible was 36 points.  Our big winner of the day – Marian Kubiak who scored 15 points on her own ball!  With a blind draw partner, her total was 25.  Wow!

Our tough teams, earning 3 points each:

25  Marian Kubiak and blind draw

24  Pam Katros and Vicki Philpott (who needs POPS to get net par??)

24  Chao Chen and blind draw

23  Paula Plesha and Marcia Whiting

23  Tyra Jarvis and LaRhonda Sayles-Willis

   Team earning 2 points each:

21  Jen Gregory and Jan Richmond

20  Sunny Shimabukuro and Shin Park

19  Ramona Marshall and Andi Saxe

18  Sonya Bradley and Icen Waterman

Congrats to our low gross of the day, Vicki Philpott with a 79.  And, low net was a 3 way tie at 72 by Marian Kubiak, Paula Plesha, and Vicki.  Close behind was Jan Richmond with a net 73 and Tyra Jarvis net 74. 

It was much cooler gathering in the restaurant after --

 Marian Kubiak, Doreen Freund, and Pam Katros.  (Why does Pam look at me like I'm crazy??)

Andi Saxe and Paula Plesha 

Ramona Marshall and Tyra Jarvis

Chao Chen, Jen Gregory, Icen Waterman, Jan Richmond

Sonya Bradley, Jeri Paik, Ramona Marshall

By Marcia Whiting, Golf Events Director

2026 Chapter Championship is in the books!  It was a great event.  Thank you to all the participants.  We had some great scores and many winners were determined by tiebreaker.  It is great fun to finish a round and see so many players talking and laughing together in the grill.  In addition to Chapter Championship, this event counted for points in the Sacramento River Series.  The SRS leaderboard has been updated under “quick links”. 

Your 2026 Chapter Champion, Krista Wylder, shot an amazing 74!  And for the second year in a row, our Net Champion is Chao Chen who shot a low net 57.

Summary of the winners, along with a few event photos (Event GGID for all info:  CLRXHY)

Krista Wylder

Marcia Whiting, Vicki Philpott, Andi Saxe

Karen Graser, Cheryl Warner, Kristine Burke

Tyra Jarvis, Karen Zamarripa, Jen Gregory, Marian Kubiak

Ramona Marshall and Sherry Murray

Birdie Celebration!

Linda Ollie Anderson, Stacey Baradit, Melody Hayes and Karen Thacker kick off play for the day!

Rona Peters and Theresa Garcia - plotting strategy before play starts.

LaRhonda Sayles-Willis sports the latest in golf shoes.

Haggin Oaks is a great golf partner!  Say thanks when you see them.

By Marcia Whiting, Golf Events Director

On Monday, July 13, 20 teams (4 players each) from many nearby ladies golf clubs competed in the NCGA Team Play Qualifier at Whitney Oaks.  (You may remember we had a chapter qualifier at Turkey Creek earlier this year.)  We sent two teams to represent our chapter.  And they both played great on a really tough course. 

Congratulations to our team who tied for 3^rd with a total score of 133.  They qualified to advance to the Team Play Finals at Poppy Ridge on September 8 and 9.  Yeah!

And our second team played great but came up one stroke short.  They tied for the 8^th and final qualifying spot, and lost out in a card off.   That is how close these events can be.  Very proud of the effort by both teams to represent our Chapter.

Individual stars for the day:

Flight A, Nanci Smith, 2^nd place, 71

Flight A, Vickie Philpott, 3^rd place, 72

Flight B, Karen Graser, 2^nd place, 72

Flight C, Sunny Shimabukuro, 2^nd place, 73

Flight D, Marian Kubiak, 1^st place, 76

Flight D, Joanie Lew, 3^rd place, 79

Marian Kubiak, Paula Plesha, Rona Peters and Jan Richmond - will be heading to Poppy Ridge!

Jen Gregory, Theresa Garcia, Kris Corbridge, and Nanci Smith

Vicki Philpott qualified with Whitney Oaks team - but we still love her!

By Marcia Whiting, Golf Events Director

On July 11/12 the 6^th Sacramento Valley Women’s Amateur tournament was held at Haggin Oaks.  In the Senior division, more bragging rights go to our very own Vicki Philpott who started on fire with a day one net 68.  She cooled down slightly on day two with a net 71 – but it was enough to secure first place by 1 measly stroke over a tough field!  

Sacramento Valley Senior Net Champion!

By:  Marcia Whiting, Golf Events Director

28 golfers showed up at Bing Maloney to celebrate all things Red, White and Blue!  It was partner golf with the scoring format changing every 6 holes. 

We had a bit of a scoring challenge with the internet connection at Bing…but it appears we correctly identified the winners.   Demonstrating some good teamwork on the course, two teams ended up tied for first.  The winner was determined by a card playoff.  Congratulations to our winners of the patriotic prizes:

116 - First Place:  Sherry Murray and Carol Peterson

116 - Second Place:  Jen Gregory and Theresa Garcia

118 - Third Place:  Jody West and Vicki Philpott

Individually, Vicki Philpott blew away the rest of the field with a low gross of 77.  And, we had three tie for low net at 67 – Jen Gregory, Sherry Murray, and Vicki Philpott.  These ladies are getting their game in shape for the upcoming final round of Chapter Championship on July 19!

(If you would like to review the leaderboard, scores can be found using the GGID:  HL962W)

Bing Maloney entrances welcomes us to the celebration of USA250.

Random teams (and carts) sporting the RED, WHITE & BLUE

By Karen Graser, President

Do you ever wonder how the money we raise every year for Girls Golf is used?  Well, last Friday, June 26, I had the honor of presenting a $500 scholarship from our LPGA Amateurs Sacramento Chapter to Emma Leingang, a newly graduated senior and First Tee – Greater Sacramento golfer.  The event was the 35^th Annual Sacramento Jr/Sr FUNvitational and after the golf they presented awards and scholarships to some outstanding First Tee student golfers.

Emma graduated from Del Oro High School with a 3.89 GPA and has been a member of First Tee – Greater Sacramento for eight years, picking up the game at age seven.  She has given back as a golf camp instructor for three summers at Indian Creek and has helped with First Tee Junior camps as well.  Her competitive journey took her to the Optimists International Junior Golf Championship in Florida in the summer of 2025.  Her most meaningful memory is being paired with a stranger at her very first tournament at age ten, and that stranger becoming her best friend.  This fall, Emma will attend William Jessup University, where she plans to study Pre-BioMed Nursing and play on the Women’s Golf Team.

Our next fund-raising event is our annual Swing Fore the Girls scramble tournament on August 30, 2026.  There will be fun games and fabulous prizes along with lunch and raffle drawings.  Keep an eye on the website for this and other fun events opening up for registration soon.

By:  Marcia Whiting, Golf Events Director

The battle for Chapter Champion overall and flight winners has begun!  Saturday was a big success with 34 golfers getting a first round score in the books.  Krista Wylder has set the mark in the overall gross category with a sizzling 78!  She will be tough to catch!  In the overall net category, Sherry Murray was on fire with a net 68!  Those two are followed closely by multiple golfers.  Additional players with a net 72 or better included Chao Chen, Laurie Hochmuth, Sharon Blume, and Marcia Whiting.  For a complete review of the scores go to the leaderboard using the GGID:  TXSLK3 

As I stated post round, the flight leaders cannot be determined until the closing of the Round 2 signups.  Once the full field from both flights has been established, we will have 4 flights split by handicap. 

If you did or did not play in Round 1 – it is still ok to play Round 2.  Only one score counts toward determining our winners.  Join the fun, and post round party!  We are also celebrating the 35 year anniversary of LPGA Amateurs.   Round 2 registration is open with spots remaining.  Don’t wait!  Sign up now and be there when our Champions are crowned Sunday, July 19. 

In addition to our Chapter Championship, both of these rounds earn Sacramento River Series points based on individual net play.  The leaderboard has been updated.  In SRS Flight A, Karen Graser scored 3 more net birdies than Marian Kubiak in order to take a slim .3 lead.  In Flight B, Chao Chen has moved .6 ahead of Rona Peters.  Both leaderboards are tightly packed with 3 rounds to go and dropping your lowest round of 7 events.  This will be interesting.

Getting set to warm up!

Marcia, Theresa, and Pam - ready to get started!

Laurie Hochmuth and Mary Lucca (Winners of Fun Play Category)

A lot of post round discussion, bragging, and laughs.

Anybody else spot these guys on the course?

By Marcia Whiting, Golf Events Director

I counted 19 chapter members who made the trip to Plumas County for the annual NCGA Spring Partners event.  This event changes locations but is always 2 player teams, fourball format, and multiple flights.  If you missed the fun this year...it is not too early to start planning for next year. 

The 2026 event was played at Graeagle Meadows and Whitehawk Ranch.   It was perfect golf weather.   Course conditions were great.  The views were awesome.  Time with old and new friends on and off the course was full of conversation and laughter. 

Between rounds of golf...

Most of the chapter players.

You need energy to golf!  

Look closely -- only Sacramento players arrive early to warm up!

Birdie shots!  Some of you remember our long time member, Michelle Ayers (yellow skirt).  She has moved to a house on the 3rd green at Grizzly Ranch.  She helped get several members of the group on to a "fun play" final round at Grizzly Ranch.  It was awesome and so fun to see her.  Of course, those in her foursome appear to have had the most fun!

Catching up with friends.

What a view!

We also played some good golf!  

3^rd place, Flight D      Cheryl Vivas and Jan Richmond

3^rd place, Flight C        Marian Kubiak and Ellie Jones

2^nd place, Flight B        Vicki Philpott and Esther Garcia

3^rd place, Flight A        Andi Saxe and Karen Graser

1^st place, Flight A        Lori Lucius and Marcia Whiting

By Marcia Whiting, Golf Events Director

During the event at Timber Creek on June 20, we had two “competitions” in play - and the weather was great for golf!

This was the first of our two Cal Cup Qualifiers.  For additional information regarding the  California Cup and how our chapter determines who will represent Sacramento – refer to the “2026 Cal Cup Qualifying Procedure” found under “About Us – Chapter Documents” on our website.  Using the process as outlined, the final determination of team members will not be made until the 2^nd qualifier on August 9 at Teal Bend. 

However, the low gross and low net player will definitely be offered the opportunity to be part of our 2026 team.  Those players are Andi Saxe who blew away the rest of us with a gross 77 and Sunny Shimabukuro with a net 70.  Honorable mention goes to Marian Kubiak and Pam Katros who both shot net 71. Nice playing ladies.

In addition we played the third round of the Sacramento River Series (SRS).  The leaderboard has been updated under “Quick Links” on the website.  In a new development, we have a tie at the top of Flight A where Karen Graser is in a dogfight with Marian Kubiak.  This should get interesting. 

In Flight B, we have a swap at the top where Rona Peters now leads Chao Chen by a slim .4.  Another tight race shaping up.  

With four events remaining in the SRS, and we drop your lowest score, everyone is still in the running for those highly coveted top 10 prize winning positions.

And I am very happy to announce we had a foursome who made your “Rules” leader extremely happy.  When a question arose where the players were not certain of the correct procedure, they followed the rules by playing two balls to the conclusion of the hole.  One ball was played as it lies while the second ball was played with relief.  Prior to returning their scorecard, the players brought the issue to the attention of scoring for a determination before completing their scorecard.  That is excellent!  And a good reminder of what will be expected during Chapter Championship.  In any situation where there is doubt about the correct procedure, or there is an unresolved issue during play, the players must bring this up at scoring before signing their scorecard. 

FYI:  When a players ball is IN PLAY in the general area, but an obstruction (split rail fence) that is inside a PENALTY AREA - NO PLAY ZONE (identified by red stakes with green tip) interferes with the players swing, the player is allowed to take nearest point of complete relief + one club length.  No penalty.

 Marcia Whiting, Ramona Marshall, Mary Lucca and Sherry Murray.  This was Mary's first outing with our Chapter.  Unfortunately, she was paired with the "rules" person and learned we play a "max 10" for any ball not played all the way into the hole.  Anyway, welcome Mary. 

 Laurie Hochmuth, Pam Katros and Paula Plesha

 Sunny Shimabukuro, Kris Corbridge, Vicki Philpott and Tina Tran  (My favorite foursome of the day because they correctly followed golf rules and played two balls!  A first for 2026 - yeah!!)

Were we at Timber Creek or Turkey Creek?

Registration for Chapter Championship is currently open.  Play one or both dates -- your best score counts in final scoring.  Gross and Net Chapter Champions - win an LPGA Amateurs cart seat cover.  Gross and Net winners in each of four flights win a "35 year" anniversary celebration hat.  Multiple prizes in all flights.  Come help us celebrate how far we have come since 1991!

By Marcia Whiting, Golf Events Director

Sixteen chapter members set out for Fairfield to compete in the LPGA Amateurs Team Championship.  Members competed as two player teams – day one was fourball and day two was a scramble.  In between golf was time for cards, food, and lots of laughter.  Thanks to all the women who attended and helped make it a fun weekend.  Some random weekend pictures, including teams who brought home some hardware: 

Lori Lucius and Marcia Whiting - Beam Team

Overall Low Gross

Andi Saxe and Marian Kubiak -- Hot Flashes

First Flight - 2nd Gross

Ramona Marshall and Jeri Paik --Birdie Birches

Fourth Flight - Low Net

Yolanda Day and Tyra Jarvis -- Double Trouble

Third Flight - Low Net

Nanci Smith and Kris Corbridge -- Two Positrons

Second Flight - Second Gross

Cards in the lobby!

Marian wins the drawing!

Esther tries to spill my beverage with her golf cart driving skills!

The LPGA Amateurs TEAM Championship is almost here.  This is an annual event presented by our National staff.  This year, the location is here on the west coast at Paradise Valley Golf Course in Fairfield.  Teams from across the nation are competing in this event.  But no chapter is represented better than Sacramento with 8 teams!  The event is June 12 and 13.  You can follow our teams by using the GGID:  26TEAMCHAMP

Cheering for the following teams:

Birdie Birches            Ramona Marshall and Jeri Paik

Hack Attack                Cheryl Vivas and Jan Richmond

Double Trouble         Yolanda Day and Tyra Jarvis

Two Positrons            Kris Corbridge and Nanci Smith

Par-Tee Partners       Kristine Burke and Paula Plesha

Hot Flashes                Andi Saxe and Marian Kubiak

Oldies but Goodies   Vicki Philpott and Esther Garcia

Beam Team                Marcia Whiting and Lori Lucius

Two Haggin Oaks clubs joined up for a fun round of Cha, Cha, Cha on June 10.  The teams were mixed and matched so every foursome had a chance to win valuable prizes.  In the end, the top three winning teams were:

-12     Marian Kubiak, Jen Gregory, Karen Keely, and Judi Ferreira

-10     Sonya Bradley, Paula Plesha, Janet Georgie, and Cindi McCormack

-10     Elaine Fat, Krista Whitman, Liz Eastman and blind draw

Losing in a scorecard playoff….

-10      Lori Lucius, Holly Chang, Karen Moreno and blind draw 

Please join us in welcoming our newest LPGA Amateurs Sacramento Chapter members!

We are excited to have each of you in our golf community and look forward to seeing you at upcoming events, league play, clinics, and social gatherings.

To our current members, please make our new members feel welcome.  A friendly hello can go a long way in building the connections that make our chapter so special. 

Welcome!

Roxanne Friedrich

Susan Collins

Roni Bowling

Tona Rose

Teri Vago-bejma

Patricia Thomas

Lisa Obaseki

Dana Carrigan

Wanda Sanders

Linda Ollie Anderson

Penelope Crumpley

Jenni Albee

Patricia Martin

Mary Lucca

Together we're building a community where every member feels welcomed, connected and inspired to enjoy the game of golf. 

Monique Cox 

Membership Chair

By:  Marcia Whiting, Events Director

And the second Lucky 7 series – the Sacramento River Series (SRS) – is off and running.  Jumping to an early 0.1 lead in Flight B is Tina Tran.  She is closely followed by Karen Zamarripa, Carrie Yoshida and many others.  In Flight A, the first round resulted in a tie at the top between Kristine Burke and our President, Karen Graser.   But everyone is still in close pursuit.  If you missed round one at Wildhawk, remember we will be dropping the lowest score in the final standings.  It is never too late to come out and play –especially if you want to play “just for fun”.  We love fun golfers.

At Wildhawk, we played Lone Ranger format.  One golfer was designated to score on specific holes, along with the best net of the remaining three.  It was a close, and fun, event.  (If you would like to review the entire leaderboard, it is available in Golf Genius using the GGID:  ML58YW)

Also, it seems Wildhawk was recently re-rated by USGA – the slope changed from 110 to 113.  With this update, the final scores changed slightly.  We had some great golfers playing lead by Kristine Burke with a net 68! Wow! Others shooting net 72 or better included:  Karen Graser, Andi Saxe, Lori Lucius, and Karen Zamarripa.  Leading the net birdies category, with seven each:  Karen Graser, Susan Collins, and Kristine Burke. 

Our team results:

Three teams with the lowest score – earning 3 points each:

135     Kristine Burke, Lori Lucius, Marian Kubiak, Carrie Yoshida

136     Chao Chen, Andi Saxe, Marcia Whiting, Karen Zamarripa

136     Karen Graser, Margie Longo, Tina Tran, Rona Peters

Two teams earning 2 points each:

138     Sunny Shimabukuro, Vicki Philpott, Sonya Bradley, LaRhonda Sayles-Willis

139     Rita Langolias, Jody West, Paula Plesha, Susan Collins

 Check out the new Sacramento Series Leaderboard under Quick Links!

Marcia Whiting and Andi Saxe celebrating twin birdies on Par 3, #4 at Wildhawk.  (I'm the twin on the left)

Our "ladies in pink" rolled up to the first tee....photo bombed by the "ladies in blue"!