The Northwestern women’s golf team improbably claimed its first Division I National Championship on May 21 at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California. The Wildcats, who were ranked 11th nationally entering the tournament, bested top-seeded Stanford, 3-2, in the title tilt. All five of Stanford’s players ranked in the national top 20. Junior Dianna Lee sealed the title with a nerve-wracking 4-foot par putt on the 18th hole to win her match against Andrea Revuelta.
“Obviously, I was so nervous, and my hands were shaking. Who wouldn’t be nervous?” Lee told NCAA.com. “It’s not like I have nerves of steel or anything, but sometimes you have to let muscle memory do its job and that’s what I think I did.”
The championship is the first in program history, and the 12th team crown overall for Northwestern athletics. The victory represents the crowning achievement in the 17-year career of head coach Emily Fletcher (pictured), a six-time Big Ten Coach of the Year who was profiled on these pages in August of 2023.
“I think more than doing what people don’t think you can do is doing what this group thought they could do. And that’s all they did,” Fletcher said.
Local golfers had a strong presence at the Division III men’s and women’s golf national championships in late May. On the men’s side, annual contender Illinois Wesleyan finished second at Midvale Country Club in Penfield, New York, with Griffin Pohl of Western Springs earning All-American honors. It was the fourth top-four finish in program history. Meanwhile, at Kingsmill Resort & Spa in Williamsburg, Virginia, four former New Trier High School teammates reunited when playing for their respective schools in the women’s finale. Pictured from left to right: Amy Beanblossom (Washington University), Peyton Sichol (Hamilton College), Carter Sichol (Carleton College) and Audrey Tir (Middlebury College).
Two integral members of the local golf community passed away in recent weeks - Edmund “EQ” Sylvester and Paul Reinking. Sylvester (pictured), 86, founded the Freedom Golf Association in 2012. This organization eventually evolved into the United States Adaptive Golf Alliance (USAGA), which is at the forefront of adaptive golf currently. A triple amputee, Sylvester received the 2020 Henry Viscardi Achievement Award and the 2019 Player Development Award at the PGA Merchandise Show. Reinking, 81, was a longtime PGA Professional at Kankakee Country Club and was inducted into the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame in 2005. He was named the PGA Golf Professional of the Year in 1994, the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a section PGA pro.
As spotlighted here in the June issue, Brandt Snedeker and Geoff Ogilvy have been selected as the United States and International captains, respectively, for the 2026 Presidents Cup at Medinah Country Club. CDGATV was on hand for the official announcement in downtown Chicago on April 29 and spoke exclusively with each captain. Scan the QR code to hear from them.