3RD ANNUAL CHICO'S PATTY BERG MEMORIAL AT CYPRESS LAKE

2014 Winner Min Seo Kwak with Cinny Murray,  &
Liz Hodges of Chico's Photo courtesy of Symetratour.com

Tennis season is winding down so it’s time to rev up T. A.’s Take on Golf again, and I couldn’t think of a better way to kick start my golf season than snagging some competitive inspiration from some of the best golfers on the planet. Yes, it’s time for Cypress Lake Country Club’s third hosting of the Chico’s Patty Berg Memorial.

It may just be the third year of the Patty Berg, but with the

committed backing of Chico’s, and a world class venue in Cypress Lakes, the event seems to have skipped early childhood and adolescence, and is springing right into early adulthood if we

Mike Nichols- Symetra Tour CBO
Photo courtesy of sportsbusinessdaily.com

extrapolate from the words of Tournament Director Matt Hoover, Jane Blalock President of Legends Tour) and Mike Nichols (Chief Business Officer of Symetra Tour). Heck, the winners even get a “Chico’s Winner Jacket”. No it’s not green, but I promise you it’s chic...black and chic.

Jane Blalock- Legends Tour President
Photo courtesy of tampabay.com

Listen, if you’ve ever watched the LPGA Tour on TV and wondered how the players reached the pinnacle of their sport, or wondered what the top players in the game do after they’ve left the LPGA Tour, Cypress Lake is the place to be April 11 -17. The Symetra Tour, billed as the “Road to the LPGA” will present the opportunity for 155 Tour hopefuls to earn points toward their LPGA cards, and the Legends Tour will feature 30 world class golfers who have amassed 556 professional wins and 46 major championships among them! Eight of those legends are Golf Hall of Fame members.

Samantha Richdale
Photo courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org

The Symetra tourney, which will be played simultaneously with the Legends Tour event, will feature nine of the top ten players on the Symetra Official Money List. Obviously, the Cypress Lake stop is an important one on the circuit. The player I’m keeping an eye on is Samantha Richdale who leads the Symetra money list. Richdale claimed Florida’s Natural Charity Classic in Lake Wales last week, finished 6th in her only other Tour start this season, and who should be coming in with confidence oozing from her golf bag. 

Madeline Sagstrom
Photo courtesy of lsusports.net

Madeline Sagstrom, No.2 on the money list, bears watching as well, as she has placed a consistent tie 3rd, tie 2nd, in the same two Tour events that Richdale has played. Hmm, 3, 2, what comes next? Yes, I’d hedge my bets with Sagstrom.

Dana Finkelstein
Photo courtesy of golfweek.com

At No.5 on the money list, Tour rookie Dana Finkelstein doesn’t hit it far (still farther than I), but she hits it straight and her approaches to the green hit their mark three out of every four attempts. She’s only played twice on the Tour, and finished tied for 42nd in her first outing. However, she made a nice jump to tie-4th last week in her second go-round, so she might be in the mix this week at Cypress. Hey, at 5’ 1” you gotta pull for her, no?

Of course, once you’ve won on a particular track, you

Augusta James
Photo Courtesy of  cbc.ca

develop an affinity for it (at least so I imagine-never having won a thing on any track), and Augusta James, the 2015 Patty Berg Winner will be in the field again. James hasn’t hit her stride just yet, finishing 8th and 12th respectively in the first two events of the season, but what better place to find your form than a venue on which you’ve already left your mark?

Jan Stephenson- Legends Tour career money leader
Photo courtesy of janstephenson.com

The Legends event is definitely nothing to sneeze at with five of the top-ten all-time career money leaders in the field. All of the players who occupied the top-ten spots on the Patty Berg leaderboard in 2015 will be teeing it up again this time around, and the “Legends” moniker is no misnomer!

Laurie Rinker who bested Rosie Jones by three shots to 

Laurie Rinker- 2015 Patty Berg Legends Winner
Photo courtesy of LPGA.com

emerge victorious last year struggled last month in the Walgreens Charity Classic in Sun City West, Arizona (AZ), finishing in a tie for 41st at +8. A number of players in this week’s field played well in AZ, including Wendy Doolan (solo 2nd at -6) and Christa Johnson (tie 3rd at -4).

Nancy Lopez
Photo courtesy of abqjournal.com

That’s all well and good as far as who’s on form (hmmm, I think that’s a tennis term- oh well),but we want to see the big names, don’t we? Pat Bradley, Betsy King, Nancy Lopez, Beth Daniel and Meg Mallon are among the instantly recognizable names (if you know anything at all about women’s golf) in the field.

Sandra Haynie
Photo courtesy of thelegendstour.com

Yet, if you don’t know a ton about women’s golf history, there are a couple names you may not recognize, but they belong to women with goo-gads of career wins and multiple majors. Ever heard of Sandra Haynie (43 wins, 4 majors)? How about JoAnne Carner (49 wins, 2 majors), or Donna Caponi (29 wins, 4 majors)? A little research can make one seem like he knows something huh? Anyway, these women can flat out play!

Speaking of women who can play, just a little reminder that

Patty Berg
Photo courtesy of likesuccess.com

the event namesake, the late Patty Berg, former member of Cypress Lake Country Club, won 63 professional events in her time, including 15 majors (most in the history of women’s golf)! How many does Tiger have again? Uh, not quite 15.

Event activities begin tomorrow (Tuesday April 12) with a Pairings Party and fun golf gets underway on Wednesday with the Pro-Am. Serious competition with cash at stake opens on Thursday and continues through Sunday. Check out the event schedule here.

Since tennis season isn’t quite over and taxes are due next

week, I won’t catch as much of the action as I’d like, but I

T. A. at Cypress Lake

intend to catch some of it for sure. Hope to see you at Cypress Lake Country Club at some point during the Chico’s Patty Berg Memorial, an event that’s fast becoming the biggest golf happening in town.