Gooding + McGaha and Mecredy + Dofflemyer Win Playoffs to Claim Carolinas Women’s & Senior Women’s Four-Ball

 

Event: 47th Carolinas Women’s Four-Ball Championship / 9th Carolinas Senior Women’s Four-Ball Championship

Host Site: Carolina Lakes Golf Club, Indian Land, S.C.

Playing Dates: June 25-26, 2024

Social Media: @CGAgolf1909

 

Related: Championship Website  | Scoring |  History  |  Photos

 

LOCATION – INDIAN LAND, S.C.

 

Congratulations to Kennedy Gooding of Lexington, S.C. + Kennedy McGaha of Honea Path, S.C. on claiming the 47th Carolinas Women’s Four-Ball Championship at Carolina Lakes Golf Club in Indian Land, S.C. The Kennedy duo carded rounds of 67-69 to finish at 136, 8-under for the tournament. They secured the win on the first playoff hole against Defending Champions Ava Romfo of Charleston, S.C. + Eleanor Burnette of Wrightsville Beach, N.C. with an incredible birdie putt from McGaha.

 

In Round 1, Gooding + McGaha carded six birdies for the day and only one bogey, finishing at a solid 5-under for the day. This put them tied for first place along with Romfo + Burnette, familiar with the top spot on the leaderboard at this event. 

 

Regarding what they did well together to put them in the final group on Wednesday, Gooding said, “I think we worked really well together as a team. My strong suit is making pars and Ken is good at getting birdies every once in a while, so I think just having my constant pars and Ken’s birdies allowed us to match really well together.” McGaha added, “We freed each other up a lot on some holes and were able to play strategically that way.”

 

In the Final Round, the top of the leaderboard was shifting throughout the entire day, all the way through the 18th hole. Multiple teams from the last few groups had the lead or a share of the lead at some point during the Final Round, making it an exciting 18 holes of competition.

 

Through nine holes, Gooding + McGaha held the top spot on the leaderboard at 6-under after a birdie on hole 9 to allow them to make the turn with momentum. However, they led by just one stroke and the race was still tight. 

 

With birdies on 10 and 11, they gave themselves a little bit of a cushion on the leaderboard, but the other teams weren’t ready to back down. Caroline Johnson of Mooresville, N.C. + Mia Gray of Conway, S.C., teammates at UNC Charlotte, climbed to the top of the leaderboard at 8-under through 16 holes. Romfo + Burnette and Gooding + McGaha were right behind them at 7-under, but after both of these pairs had birdies on 17, these three teams were all tied at 8-under with just one hole to play. 

 

Romfo + Burnette and Gooding + McGaha came down 18 with important approach shots to give themselves a chance for birdie. All four players put their shots to about 10 feet, making it anyone’s to win. 

 

Regarding how the competition felt, especially at the very end, McGaha explained “I figured we were up there at the top in contention, but we just kept telling ourselves ‘If we could just stay at 8-under, or even get to 9, we would be good.’ Especially on the last hole when everybody had a 10-footer for birdie, that’s when I thought ‘Okay, someone is going to win it right here’”.

 

After four two-putts, it was time for a playoff. It was Defending Champions Romfo + Burnette and Gooding + McGaha heading to hole 1.

 

Gooding gave herself a good look for birdie, but McGaha was up first, putting from the far right side of the green. McGaha sank her massive putt to win the playoff and the title at the Carolinas Women’s Four-Ball Championship.

 

Gooding shared the playoff from her perspective. “We kind of went back and forth on whether to hit driver or 3-wood off of hole 1. When you get to a playoff, it’s kind of like you’ve got nothing to lose, so we pulled driver out of the bag. Ken went a little left into the bunker and I was in the fairway. I hit it to about 15 feet. Ken hit her bunker shot pretty good but it was on the right side of the green like 70 feet from the pin. I thought ‘Okay, let’s let Ken lag it down here, make par, and I’ll try to make this birdie putt. And then she gets up over her putt and just drains it from so far away, so it was a good hole for both of us.”

 

Gooding and McGaha play together at Anderson University in South Carolina. When asked how being college teammates made a difference this week, McGaha shared, “I think playing on a college team together and then coming out here was an advantage because we know each other’s game so well and we were able to talk each other through things. We know how each other wants to hit shots so we were able to figure out what the other person would want to do versus what we would want to do ourselves.”

 

“I think it’s always fun to win, especially with a teammate. We get to compete all year together at school for our college but winning an outside tournament is really fun,” Gooding shares regarding how it feels to win today. 

 

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9th Carolinas Senior Women’s Four-Ball Championship

 

Related: Championship Website  | Scoring |  History  |  Photos

 

Congratulations to Colleen Mecredy of Mint Hill, N.C. + Hui Chong Dofflemyer of Pikeville, N.C. on taking home the 9th Carolinas Senior Women’s Championship at Carolina Lakes Golf Club in Indian Land, S.C. The team shot rounds of 69-67 for a two-day total of 136, 8-under, and also won on their first playoff hole with a par against Angela Stewart of Greenville, N.C. + Pat Brogden of Garner, N.C.

 

The players battled the heat and humidity this week. Dofflemyer made an incredible eagle on hole 3 during Round 1 to start the week off strong, and the team had two other birdies throughout the day to finish at 3-under, 69. After Round 1, Mecredy + Dofflemyer sat two strokes back from Round 1 leaders Stewart + Brogden at 5-under. 

 

Mecredy said, “When she was having a bad hole, I just picked it up. When I was having a bad hole, she took the lead. I think hitting off the tee, we can both carry far which made a lot of the holes easier,” regarding how her and playing partner Dofflemyer succeeded together as a team. 

 

Regarding their strategy for the week, Mecredy explained, “There’s a lot of risk and reward out here. When we played our practice round, I said ‘We are not playing safe. We are going for pins and we are cutting corners. This is best ball, there’s no playing safe. Let’s play aggressive.’”

 

In the Final Round on Wednesday, Mecredy + Dofflemyer were in the second to last group. They recorded two birdies on their first nine holes. At the turn, Stewart + Brogden led the pack. Even with only a few holes to play, Stewart + Brogden held on to the lead at 9-under. However, Mecredy + Dofflemyer kicked it into high gear on their back nine. They birdied holes 5, 7, and 9 to finish strong and climb their way up the leaderboard, finishing at 8-under with Stewart + Brogden to force a playoff. 

 

Mecredy + Dofflemyer and Stewart + Brogden headed to hole 1 for their playoff right behind the playoff between Romfo + Burnette and Gooding + McGaha. 

 

Regarding their strategy during the playoff, Dofflemyer said “I was thinking we could go over the bunker. The bunkers in the fairway are really deep, so your tee shot makes a big difference in how the rest of the hole goes.”

 

Mecredy + Dofflemyer both avoided the bunkers and put their approach shots on the green, giving them some comfort and confidence as they read their putts. Mecredy + Dofflemyer secured the win with a par on the first playoff hole.

 

With only one bogey across the two days, this team played to each other’s strengths to overcome the competition. 

 

When asked what the win means to them, Mecredy shared “It’s big for me because I just started playing tournaments two years ago. I started playing during COVID, so I come out to these tournaments and I see these really good players and it’s intimidating, but now I know ‘I can do this.’”

 

The Carolinas Golf Association would like to thank Head Professional Todd Burrell, Superintendent Daryl Ewing, and the rest of the members and staff of Carolina Lakes Golf Club for hosting this event.

 

 

About the Carolinas Golf Association (CGA)

The CGA is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit educational organization founded in 1909 to promote and protect the game of golf in the Carolinas by providing competitions, education, support, and benefits to golf clubs and golfers. The CGA is one of the largest golf associations in the country, with over 700 member clubs represented by over 200,000 individuals.

The CGA annually conducts 48 championships and five team match competitions for men, women, juniors, and seniors. It also runs over 150 One-Day (net and gross) events and qualifying for USGA national championships. The CGA serves golf in the Carolinas with numerous programs such as: the USGA Handicap System; tournament management software and support; course measuring and course/slope ratings; agronomy consultation; answers about the Rules of Golf, Rules of Amateur Status, and Handicapping; Carolinas Golf Magazine; Interclub series; Tarheel Youth Golf Association; Carolinas Golf Hall of Fame; expense assistance for USGA Junior and Girls' Junior qualifiers from the Carolinas; and the Carolinas Golf Foundation (CGF). The CGF has distributed over $3,000,000 since 1977 to benefit Carolinas' golf initiatives, including junior, women and adaptive programs.

For more information about the Carolinas Golf Association, follow @cgagolf1909 on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok, or visit our website www.carolinasgolf.org/

 

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