CYPRESS LAKE WELL DRESSED FOR CHICO'S PATTY BERG MEMORIAL

Cheyenne Woods at Patty Berg on Sunday

When I followed a Woods around the golf course today, it had been years, in fact more than a decade and a half I’d say, since I followed a Woods around a golf course. Back then, it was Tiger in Phoenix at the Phoenix Open. Today it was Cheyenne in Fort Myers at the Inaugural Chico’s Patty Berg Memorial, a brand new stop on the Symetra Tour. 

For the uninitiated, the Symetra Tour is billed as the “Road to the LPGA,” as in LPGA Tour, in the same vein as the Web.com Tour for the PGA Tour. 

Cypress Lakes No.12 (No.3 for event)

Cypress Lake Country Club put its best foot forward in hosting the event, as 68 was the best anyone could post over the three-day event. Only Sara Bay in Sarasota, where the Guardian was held, played tougher than Cypress in the six tournaments played thus far. 

Michelle Shin

While Cheyenne Woods might have been the biggest name in the draw by virtue of her connection to “Uncle Eldrick,” the most popular golfer at Cypress Lake Country Club, host of the event, was surely Michelle Shin. Michelle is a product of Cape Coral,

a graduate of Canterbury School in Fort

Michelle Shin

Myers, and still names the Verandah Club (which I played that same afternoon) her home course. So it was no surprise that she had one of the largest galleries on the final day of the event.

Naturally Steph and I followed Michelle’s group for a few holes, and she rewarded us with a

Fist bumping Michelle after birdie on No.3

birdie on No.3 to get to -1, just four shots off the lead. That -1 would have been good enough for a tie for 5th had it held up, but Michelle slipped to +3 by day’s end. That score was good enough for a tie for 22nd and a decent paycheck.

Yueer Cindy Feng

As much as I wanted to hang with Michelle’s group, there were others to follow as well. Tour Leader Cindy Feng, was playing in a group with Kendall Dye (No.3 on the money list) and Maude-Aimee Leblanc (No.9), so that seemed like an inspirational group for me to follow prior to playing my own round later that afternoon.

Kendall Dye

Feng was all right when we followed her group...meaning almost all of her shots were heading right. However, you could see her working it out on those first few holes, and by the time the final round was over, she had finished one under for the day, and in a tie for 3rd with Demi Runas at -2. Runas’ 69 was one of just three rounds in the 60s on the final day.

Kendall Wright 
Photo courtesy of Symetratour.com

Kendall Wright had the round of the day, shooting 68 to finish the tourney at even par and a tie for 7th. Lindy Duncan, who finished in a tie for 13^th at +1, shot a 69 as well to close out the sub-70 scoring.

Min Seo Kwak with Cinny Murray,  & Liz Hodges of Chico'sPhoto courtesy of Symetratour.com

Min Seo Kwak proved to be no lame-duck leader, as she went into the final round at -5, with just a one-stroke lead over Jean Reynolds and two

Jean Reynolds
Photo courtesy of Symetratour.com

over Brittany Altomare, her playing partners. Both Reynolds and Altomare faded, the former dropping four shots to par, the other losing three, to finish in a six-way tie for 7^th. 

Min Seo Kwak
Photo courtesy of Symetratour.com

Kwak, however, despite dropping a shot early, rebounded to finish two under on the day, and -7 for the tournament to claim the Inaugural Patty Berg Memorial. 

Stephanie Na
Photo courtesy of Symetratour.com

Kwak was one of just two players who managed to shoot under par all three days at Cypress Lake, the other being steady Stephanie Na, who had rounds of 2, 1, and 1 under on successive days. Her consistency earned her second place alone, behind the going away, three-shot victory Kwak posted.

Cindy Feng

Kwak vaulted 33 spots up the Money List with her victory, and now sits in 4th. Na’s leap up the Money List was even more impressive as she moved from No.108 to No.13 with that second-place finish. Feng’s 3^rd-place finish was enough to keep her solidly atop the Tour standings, as she leads second-place Marissa Steen by more than $10k. 

Michelle Shin

And our local girl? Well, Michelle springboarded 45 slots from No.138 to No.93 on the Money List. Given her No.10 ranking for driving accuracy, and her No.68 standing on greens in regulation, I suspect that some putting improvement (she’s No.129 in putting average) would vault her into the upper echelon of players seeking a spot on the LPGA Tour.

Jean Chua about to tee off on final day

As I think about that last paragraph, it brings to mind my own condition. If I had showed some putting improvement last Sunday, I might have bettered my best round ever at Verandah’s Old Orange. Instead, I merely tied my best score, which I hadn’t shot there since 2010. Thanks for the inspiration ladies, and I wish you all the best in the Volvik Race for the Card!

General Manager Ed Rogers, Head Superintendent
Bryce Koch & Head Golf Professional Dan Pontes
check things out from the balcony

Thanks to staff and volunteers at Cypress Lake for the awesome job they did hosting the event, to Chico’s for bringing us the event, and to all who showed up to support the ladies doing all they can to live the dream. Until next, “Golf is a game that is played on a five-inch course — the distance between your ears” (Bobby Jones).

Additional photos may be viewed here