It was not your mother’s HSWGA Stroke Play Championship this week at Mid-Pacific Country Club. Clearly, it was not your daughter’s, either.
In a golf era dominated by kids and college students who have thrived in the Hawaii State Junior Golf Association, the youngest entrant this year was 42-year-old Kasandra Shriver.
The champion was Patty Shremmer, who just turned 50. The former University of Southern Florida golfer — "ages and ages ago" — has lived here six years.
She celebrated her birthday by qualifying for last month’s U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur while in Arizona. Shremmer advanced to match play — "That was my goal, sadly" — and lost on the 18th green in the first round at Nashville.
After Wednesday, it has been a very good 50th golf year for someone who didn’t even know the Hawaii State Women’s Golf Association existed until a few fellow Senior Amateur competitors encouraged her to look it up when she got home.
Shremmer chased down first-round leader Jeannie Pak with an even-par 36 on the front nine Wednesday. She shot 40 in her first tour — ever — of MPCC’s back nine to win by four.
Did Shremmer know where she stood?
"No," she grinned. "I don’t think anybody did."
She opened with a 38 in Tuesday’s rain-shortened first round (competitors played only the front nine) and ended with a total of 6-over 114. Pak closed with an 81 and Hawaiian Air flight attendant Uta McLin (78–120), another HSWGA rookie, took third.
Val Vares, a 20-handicapper, won B Flight with net scores of 39-75. Lisa Lee (78-115.5) was second and Shriver (78–116) third.
Changes in name, length, format, time of year … entire ambience this year were instigated by a simple by-law addition that became official in August. The HSWGA, which has run the State Stroke and Match Play Championships since its inception, added a section saying only women 18 and older, who belong to member clubs, were eligible for its events.
This century of college players, teens and 11-year olds — Michelle Wie, Stephanie Kono, Allisen Corpuz won majors at that tender age — dominating immediately ended. The best female amateurs here are now not eligible for two of Hawaii’s three women’s majors, with the Jennie K. their only outlet.
Sensing the obvious — its events are no longer state championships — the HSWGA took "State" out of the Match and Stroke Play titles this year. Anna Umemura, who won State Stroke and Match Play and the Jennie K. Invitational in 1997, could go down in history as the only golfer to ever claim our coveted women’s amateur Triple Crown.
That appeared to be OK with most Wednesday.
"I didn’t learn to golf until I was 25," McLin said. "The kids now learn at age 5 and that’s the difference.
"To me, I like it because I’m 57. I don’t want to compete with people half my age. When we do this, I kind of like it. Sometimes it’s nice to play with people your own age."
Match Play was won by two-time HSWGA Senior Champion Mira Han earlier this year, after a final-round forfeit. Handicaps were used for everyone in that tournament.
Stroke Play wasn’t held last year when only six signed up. There were only eight registered this year at the end of September, but 22 played this week at weather-whipped Mid-Pacific, which had water in the bunkers and a tree down on the 13th hole.
None of the conditions appeared to faze Shremmer, who qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open in 1998. She rarely has time to play now because she is driving her three daughters to surfing competitions, and trying to convince them that golf has advantages.
They called her when she was in Nashville, upset because a guy gave them a hard time about dropping in on waves. Shremmer saw an opportunity.
"I was on the driving range," she recalls. "I told them people actually invited me to join them on the range. Not one person tried to jump me in the lineup."
