For the fourth time in a row it was the team from the southern portion of the state that took home the championship of the Women’s Florida Cup last Tuesday. South Florida was victorious at the end of the two-day competition, retaining the cup with its 20-12 win at Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club.
Kim Keyer-Scott clinched the win for captain Mary Jane Hiestand's team, winning the final two holes to halve her singles match against Lin Culver.
The victors had set themselves on the path to success during a rainy opening day, claiming seven of eight points in the morning four-ball competition. Captain Tama Caldabaugh's North team scrambled back slightly during afternoon foursomes, winning five points. But the South led, 10-6, by the end of the day.
The South team won five of the six singles matches that began before Keyer-Scott's outing against Culver, putting the wheels in motion for the comfortable victory.
Making her fourth appearance for the South team, Gigi Higgins of Cape Coral won all three of her matches to run her overall record in the competition to 11-1. She teamed with Hiestand in four-ball and with Susan Temple in foursomes, before topping Sarah Phillips-Durst, 2 and 1, in Tuesday's final singles match.
Although the North has yet to earn a victory in the biennial battle, this year's eight-point deficit was the smallest since the competition began in 2013.
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Team Florida fell victim to a strong rally by Georgia on the final day, finishing second to its neighbor to the north last Monday in the biennial Southeastern Challenge Matches at Kinderlou Forest Golf Club in Valdosta, Ga.
Team Georgia totaled 25½ points, four clear of Florida in the final standings of the three-way event. Team Alabama scored 16 points to finish in third place.
Georgia now has eight victories in the Southeastern Challenge Matches, which equals Florida's eight in the race for all-time bragging rights. Alabama has one victory.
Staff and Wire Reports
