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 

Turkey Creek is in the books!  In the Sacramento River Series, our low team of the day with a 67 was Karen Graser and Lori Lucius.  Karen is now atop the Flight A leaderboard with Lori close behind.  In Flight B, Chao Chen moved into the top spot with Rona Peters right below her.  Still several rounds to go before the SRS is finalized. 

This round also served to determine who would represent our Chapter at the upcoming NCGA Team Play Qualifier.  The Qualifier is July 13 at Whitney Oaks.  There are spots available to sign up even if you are not on a team so come out and cheer for our players.  The teams are:

LPGA Amateurs Sacramento 1:  Marian Kubiak, Jan Richmond, Paula Plesha, Rona Peters

LPGA Amateurs Sacramento 2:  Jen Gregory, Theresa Garcia, Kris Corbridge, Nanci Smith

Let’s go teams!  Represent us with pride!

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!

NCGA Women’s One Day Series

Four of our chapter members took a drive to Corning to play in the at the Links at Rolling Hills on May 5, 2026.  They represented us very well.  Check out these results:

Esther Garcia, 2^nd overall, and 2nd in Flight B

Jan Richmond, 3rd overall, and 3rd in Flight B

Vicki Philpott, 4th overall, and 1^st in Flight A

Rita Nurita (Langlois) T8 overall, and 2^nd in Flight A

On Monday, May 11, several chapter members participated at Turkey Creek. And once again, several played well.  Results:

Vicki Philpott, 1^st place in Flight A, Net 75

Sunny Shimabukuro, 2^nd place in Flight B, Net 79

Lynda Lapp, 3^rd place in Flight H, net 78

In the Series Team standings, the two LPGA Amateurs teams are neck and neck in Overall standings after several events.  If you haven’t participated in NCGA events, give it a try!

We have now confirmed Whitney Oaks continues to be the course to “test your game”!  We had 20 brave golfers take the test on Saturday, May 9.  Thank goodness for our Local Rule – maximum score of 10.  Good news, the game of the day only required a player to get one good par 3, par 4, or par 5 to help the team build a winning scorecard.  Our winning teams:

3 points each

57           Pam Katros, Jeri Paik, Susan Esposito, Charisse Yambao

59           Andi Saxe, Sunny Shimabukuro, Doreen Freund, Rona Peters

2 points each

61           Lori Lucius, Chao Chen, Kris Corbridge, Shin Park

61           Rita Langolias, Jen Gregory, Jan Richmond, Susan Collins

Everyone else was guaranteed 1 point, and individual scores of net 72 or better guaranteed 3 points, net 73 to 79 guaranteed 2 points, and net birdies are always 0.10.  Thanks to everyone who is joining in with play. 

The updated leaderboard has been posted under "Quick Links".  It is a race to the finish with our final event in the ACS series on May 24 at The Ridge.   In Flight A, Andi Saxe has taken over the lead by a small margin.  There is a tie for the 10th spot between Sunny Shimabukuro and Kristine Burke.  In Flight B, Jeri Paik leaped up 4 spots to lead the flight by .1 over Jan Richmond.  

Good luck to everyone in an effort to hang on to a top 10 final spot!

Winning team -- Pam, Jeri, Susan, and Charisse -- celebrate Jeri's birdie on Hole #8!! Wow!

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!

News From HQ

LPGA Amateurs Member ID Easily Available 
Have you accessed your 2026 LPGA Amateurs Member ID card yet? LPGA Tour season in full swing, be sure to have it ready to enjoy complimentary entry to LPGA and Epson Tour events for you and a guest.    Click the link below for step-by-step video instructions or detailed written instructions.  

Questions? Contact membership@lpgaamateurs.com

LPGA Amateurs Team Championship Registration Phase 2 Open!

Registration for the 2026 Biggest Loser Handicap Challenge opened on Thursday, April 16!  

How low can you go?! This five-month-long, stroke-shaving competition challenges LPGA Amateurs members from across the Association. It's only $15 USD to participate! Prizes will be awarded to the member with the best overall improvement and the most improved member in each flight. Click here for rules and registration.  Questions? Email handicap@lpgaamateurs.com 

Our NCGA Club Representative, Pam Katros, has provided the following list of events likely to be popular with our Chapter members.  Check your schedule and sign up early as some of these will fill up fast.  They are fun events!  

NCGA Events | June – August

The following events will open for registration on 4/13/26.

Registration can be found on the NCGA website here. 

Several members recently participate in the “Women’s One Day” event at Lincoln Hills on April 7.  It was a fun event and we hade several Chapter members came home winners of the day. 

Big winner -  Yolanda Day (overall 2nd place, 1^st in her flight)

Great day for Paula Plesha (overall 4^th place, 3^rd in her flight)

In Flight A, 2^nd place went to Nanci Smith, and 3^rd place to Pam Katros.

In Flight C, 3^rd place, Jan Richmond.

Ursula Whitfield