By Marcia Whiting, Golf Events Director

Seems like it has been a minute but the LPGA Amateurs Sacramento Chapter was back on the course this weekend.  We wrapped up the second event in the Lake Natomas Series at Empire Ranch in Folsom.

Format for the day was Fourball – stroke play.  Everyone had a partner to rely on with the hope one of the pair might have a good net score on each hole!  And, if you weren’t in the top tier this week, remember one low score is dropped in the final standings.  It’s not too late to move up the leaderboard. 

Our winners Sunday (for complete round scoring use GGID:  UGTSPV)

-12    Karen Graser and Doreen Freund

-12    Lori Lucius and Stephanie Clendenin

-11    Chao Chen and Ramona Marshall

-9      Rona Peters and Jan Richmond

-6      Nanci Smith and Kris Corbridge

-6      Jen Gregory and Kas Khachadourian

And don’t forget, individual scores can always improve your leaderboard total.  Net of 72 or below = 3 points, Net 73-79 = 2 points.  And net birdies add up!  Our current leaders, Karen Graser, Flight A, and Ramona Marshall, Flight B.

Congratulations to our low gross score of the day – Vicki Philpott with 79!  

Post round bragging in the bar! 

And....Karen Graser finds her ball....in the cart of the group ahead!  Quite a shot!  Now play it!

By Karen Graser President

I am pleased to announce Lenore Timko is our new Golf Events Director for the two-year term beginning November 1, 2026. 

Lenore joined our chapter in 2019 and has participated in chapter events over the last 7 years. She is eager to engage and get more involved with the chapter and bring her special skills to the board.  She has held leadership roles in professional organizations in the Agricultural Technology space as well as the recreational space as an Ambassador for the Sacramento Running Association. She is currently a Pebble Beach Hole Captain for the AT&T Pro-Am.

In her own words: I look forward to supporting the new direction the Board has set for events in 2027. As the event leads are announced, I look forward to fostering their input, collaborating and offering my support to ensure events are successful all while promoting a favorable experience for all members.

By Marcia Whiting, Golf Events Director

The 2026 State Fair Women’s Champions come from our very own LPGA Amateurs chapter.   As usual, it was a great competition.  We had several members participating in this 2 day event at Bartley Cavanaugh Golf Course. 

The State Fair Senior Champion title went to Karen Garcia.  She shot an amazing two rounds under par – 66 and 70!  Final total 136 ( -6).  Wow.  Karen never stops amazing us with her great golf game.

In the Net Division, Tyra Jarvis came out on fire day one with a tournament best net 64.  She cooled off slightly in the final round shooting a net 67 which was enough to hold off all competitors and take the title with a final net 131 (-11).  Chapter member Rona Peters made it interesting with rounds of -69 and -67 for a two day total of net 136 (-6) and finished 2^nd place overall. 

Karen Garcia - State Fair Senior Champion

Tyra Jarvis - State Fair Net Champion

And our additional award winners, shown below.....accepting their prize!!

Rona Peters

Kris Corbridge

Rosie Ho

By Marcia Whiting, Golf Events Director

Reports confirm all competitors showed up ready for a fun day at the Swing FORE the Girls Fundraiser!  Huge thank you to all who participated and generously donated in support of girls golf. 

The scramble format is always fun and the competition was close.    Congratulations to all the winners – including those lucky raffle and split the pot winners!

2026 Swing FORE the Girls – First Place Overall - Score 52:  Jennifer Gregory, Moe Hannan, Alex Calinsky, Jeanette Calinsky 

Flight A Winners - Score 54:  Pam Katros, Krista Wylder, Chao Chen, Jody West

Flight B Winners (not pictured) - Score 58:  Rosie Ho, Frances Yee, Mary Linn Lee, Dawn Satow

CLOSEST TO THE HOLE

Hole #3,   12’11 =   Vicki Philpott

Hole #6,   6’6 =   Karen Graser

Hole #12   5’8.5 =   Alex Calinsky

Hole #16   8’0 =   Paula Plesha

By Marcia Whiting, Golf Events Director

First round of the Lake Natomas Series is in the books.  This was Fourball – Match Play at the Reserve at Spanos Park.  The course is a good layout with plenty of challenges to make those matches interesting!  Despite that, lots of net birdies – and they were required to win holes.  Congratulations to Vicki Philpott who lit it up with a gross 75!  Wow.  She probably didn’t lose 3 balls in the water like I did….

For all match results use the GGID:  KLFFU3

Icen Waterman, Theresa Garcia, Pam Katros, Marcia Whiting.  (OK, so those guys won, big deal!)

Theresa Garcia.....checking twice as she cannot believe she won....

Win, lose or tie - it's all smiles at the clubhouse.  Pam Katros, Andi Saxe, Jan Richmond.

And below, post round chatter, as usual with this crew!

by Marcia Whiting, Golf Events Director

LPGA Amateurs Western Regional Qualifier for “The Cup” competition was held August 14 and 15 in San Marcos California.  Two Sacramento teams made the trip in an effort to qualify for the Finals.  While both teams played hard, only one team made it into the top ten and will advance.

Fore Positrons – Finished 7^th place and qualifies for Cup Finals in October!  (Jody West, Nanci Smith, Kris Corbridge Melissa Barnes)

 Sac Town4 –  Missed qualifying but had a fun time doing it! (Andi Saxe, Vicki Philpott, Lori Lucius, Marcia Whiting)

By Marcia Whiting, Golf Events Director

After completion of all qualifying events, we are happy to announce the players for the 2026 Sacramento Chapter Cal Cup team. 

Andi Saxe

Sunny Shimabukuro

Marian Kubiak

Vicki Philpott

Theresa Garcia

Jody West

Jan Richmond

Jen Gregory

Sonya Bradley

Lori Lucius

Chao Chen

Marcia Whiting - Captain

These ladies will be representing our chapter in the annual match play tournament.  It will be held November 6-8 at the Anaheim Hills Golf Club.  Thank you to everyone who “competed” for a spot on the team.  Our Chapter is stronger because of the friendly spirit of competition we enjoy throughout the year.  Congratulations to the team members!  Stay tuned with more to come. 

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

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"!

Whew....for me personally...it was a brutal day at The Ridge to wrap up the Arcade Creek Series (ACS).  The weather was pleasant, the company was pleasant...but the golf was...ugh.  I'm humbled!  Lucky for me we only take on The Ridge once per year!  Thanks to everyone who came out for the challenge. 

This was our final ACS event...blind draw for partners in Fourball scoring.  The teams which excelled with a final round of 3+ points:

65  Nanci Smith and Sonya Bradley  (How did that combo come out in first place??)

66  Pam Katros and Jeri Paik (That makes sense.)

69  Susan Collins and LaFronda Sayles-Willis (name change made by The Ridge cart)

70  Theresa Garcia and Chao Chen (Theresa wins 2 weeks running???)

71 Tie  Marian Kubiak and Marcia Whiting  (Thank you Marian!!) tied with Lynda Lapp and her blind draw

The leaderboard has been updated.  We ended with a tie in Flight A - so we paid 11 places in both flights!  The next 7 series starts at Wildhawk next week.  Let's get it on!

The NCGA Senior/Super Senior tournament was scheduled for play on Tuesday and Wednesday.  The rain did not cooperate on Tuesday.  Play was cancelled and players were left to hike the foothills, play cards, investigate Angels Camp, wine tasting in Murphy’s, or just relax!  With the tournament reduced to one day, players had to bring their "A" game on Wednesday.  Our chapter was well represented with more than 10 competitors in the field. 

Vicki Philpott proved that one day was all she needed.  She blew away the competition.  Vicki shot a gross 74 at Copper Valley.  The tournament used stableford scoring.  Vicki was at the top of the leaderboard for both gross, with 34 points, and net with 40 points.  The closest competitor in gross play was 9 points behind her!  I’m guessing she had all phases of her game clicking to put up those numbers!  

Other chapter members who played some great golf during the tournament include: 

Kris Corbridge, Super Senior 3^rd place overall net and first Flight D  (35 points)

Esther Garcia, Super Senior, 1^st place in Flight C (33 points)

Lori Lucius, Senior, 2^nd place in Flight B (35 points)

Sunny Shimabukuro, Senior, 4^th place in Flight D (31 points)

Congratulations to everyone who competed.  We were well represented!

The beautiful weather brought out the golfers.  Ancil Hoffman was packed which resulted in a long round!  I hope you had the chance to look around and enjoy the setting.  We are lucky to have access to a day spent in a park. 

Nanci Smith and Paula Plesha were in a golfing groove!  They ended at the top with each earning 44 stableford points, scoring net 64, and 8 net birdies each.   Nanci lead the field with a gross 78.  Closely followed by Stacey Baradit and Margie Longo who each shot 80.  Nice golfing ladies!

The top 11 stableford scores (and ties) were awarded 3 points.  Those big winners:

44       Nanci Smith, Paula Plesha

38       Doreen Freund

37       Stacey Baradit, Karen Graser, Marian Kubiak

36       Kristine Burke, Sonya Bradley

35       Tina Tran, Vicki Philpott

34       Lori Lucius, Andra Saxe, Kris Corbridge, Ramona Marshall, Rona Peters, Jeri Paik, Margie Longo, Jen Gregory 

As always, individual scores in the net 70’s guaranteed 2 points and net 72 or below guaranteed 3 point.  Net birdies were each worth .1

The updated leaderboard for the Arcade Creek Series (ACS) can be found under “Quick Links” on the website.  Remember, prizes awarded to top 10 in each Flight.  For a complete review of the Ancil Hoffman event leaderboard, you may go to Golf Genius and use the GGID:  BQEU5Q

Shout out to our Spotlight Sponsor, Tona Rose of Golf Fitness with Tona Rose.  Tona met each group at the tee box for a brief introduction and free lip balm.  Loved her energy.  She promises to join in and golf at some upcoming events.

Tona Rose talking with players at the first tee.  She's available to make us better golfers!

Jan identifies a need for careful review of a scorecard after Sonya records a net albatross!

Nicely color coordinated foursome.  All but one of this group earned 3 + points....hmmmmm

Golf Buddies!!  Tina Tran and Susan Collins

Just hit it!