THREE-PEAT!

Wellington High School’s Lady Wolverines Capture

District 19 Golf Championship for Third Straight Year

Royal Palm Beach, FL —  On a day straight out of any British Open Championship, the high school girls District 19 Golf Championship matches were played on Monday, October 17 at Madison Green Golf Club in Royal Palm Beach. The term “blustery conditions” doesn’t even come close to describing what the girls endured. 

Given the weather, it was only appropriate that the matches were contested on Madison Green’s links-style golf course. The course, said club president Todd Schoenwetter, was originally designed to emulate courses in Scotland and Ireland; and on this day it did not disappoint.

The team from Wellington High School successfully defended their championship, taking top honors for the third year in a row.  The Lady Wolverines carded a 367, led by Sophomore Janelle Johnson’s 82.  Finishing second was Seminole Ridge, with a total score of 391. Third place went to the team from Dwyer, with a score of 435.  Those three teams, along with the top three individual players whose teams did not advance, will move on to the regional finals at Ironhorse Country club on Monday, October 24, where they will compete with finalists from other districts for a chance to advance to the state championship matches.

ROYAL PALM BEACH GOLFER SHOOTS LOWEST SCORE
Royal Palm Beach’s Ashley Alzate finished her round with a 78, the only player to break 80, to take top individual honors.

“THE GREATEST GAME EVER PLAYED”

Anyone who has ever seen the movie “The Greatest Game Ever Played,” the story of amateur golfer Francis Ouimet’s unlikely victory at theU.S. Open golf tournament in 1913, in Brookline, Mass., could draw some parallels from Monday’s matches.

The day started out wet and became increasingly soggy until play was halted temporarily at 9:30AM.  The final grouping, from Forest Hill High School, had just hit their tee shots when club pro Mark Rogers called the girls back in.  “With water standing on the greens, the course was simply unplayable,” said Rogers. 

The first group, which had started at 8:04, had completed six holes when play was suspended.  “We knew Tuesday wouldn’t be any better,” said Rogers, “so we told the girls to sit tight and hope for a break in the weather.” That break came at 11AM, and play resumed with golfers being shuttled back to their previous positions on the course. They were not greeted by clear skies, but the rain had let up enough to allow play to resume.

What had started as an evenly-spaced match (the groups teed off 10 minutes apart) suddenly had the look of I-95 at rush hour; with groups of golfers waiting on the tee box as two, sometimes three, groups played the same hole ahead of them.  “To say it was a long day would be an understatement,” said WHS head coach Laurie Bawinkle, “but we were proud of all the girls for hanging in there.”  The final grouping completed their round in light but steady rain at just after 5PM with parents, coaches and golfers cheering them on – if for no other reason than the day was finally, mercifully, over.

“MADISON GREEN DESERVDED A TROPHY TODAY”

Bawinkle, and the rest of the coaches, heaped praise on the staff at Madison Green Golf Club.  “We can’t thank the folks at Madison Green enough for their hospitality, and for sticking with us all day. They deserve a trophy for their efforts,” said Bawinkle. “Had we not been here, I’m sure they would have closed the course and given everyone the day off. But they hung in there with us for the entire 9- plus hours it took to complete the matches – and treated us like we were the most important people in the world.”  Everyone pitched in and “went above and beyond,” she said. “From the guys in the cart barn who made sure all of the coaches had dry carts, to Mark Rogers who was our official tabulator, to the marketing director – who personally delivered hot lunches to the golfers and coaches out on the course; and the kitchen staff, who prepared more than 30 lunches on short notice,” it was just a tremendous effort on their part. Our hats are off to everyone at Madison Green.”

Madison Green has been the site of many USGA and other high-level matches, but this one, said club president Todd Schoenwetter, “will go down in history.”  Schoenwetter, himself a high school golfer in his younger days, said he and his staff “were proud to host the event, and will welcome the girls back at any time.”