After over a month off, the BG women’s golf team will resume their spring schedule today in Nashport, Ohio.
The Falcons and the Ohio Bobcats will go head-to-head at the Longaberger Golf Club, where they will battle each other for the Longaberger Spring Challenge Cup.
The event will feature a match-play format, which pits individual golfers against each other on a nine-hole basis. In the morning three teams from each school going against each other for nine holes of alternate shot play and nine more of best ball.
Points will be awarded after each set of nine holes. The teams will then reconvene in the afternoon for six individual singles matches, with each match being worth one point.
In all, there are 12.5 points available. The first team to 6.5 points walks away with the Cup.
Golf enthusiasts know full well how much excitement can be generated via this style of play, which was a big reason why BG coach Stephanie Young and Ohio coach Kelly Ovington selected it when they set out to jointly host this event.
“Coach Ovington and I were looking to create something that would be a unique and special experience for these girls,” Young said. “This is a format can be a lot of fun to play, plus both teams have played in a lot of the same tournaments together and know each other pretty well, which should add an interesting dynamic.”
The format is similar to that of the Ryder Cup, an international competition that pits the best American professional golfers against those from Europe.
In addition to each other, the teams should also be quite familiar with the venue.
Longaberger hosts the Mid-American Conference Championships every other year, and there are plenty of players on either side with prior experience on the scenic par-72 that was rated by Golfweek as the Top-rated public course in Ohio in 2008.
“We are certainly looking forward to playing on a golf course like Longaberger,” Young said. “It’s nice that we have a bunch of experience here, and this will give us another opportunity to play the course before next year’s MAC Championships.”
Although the prospect of rust will almost certainly come to mind after a month off, Young is pleased with the amount of work her team was able to put in during the down time.
“We were very fortunate to be able to get outside nearly every day and get a lot of holes under our belt,” Young said. “We are also in tremendous physical shape compared to previous years. This was the best overall winter for lifting and conditioning that we have had, and the difference has been noticeable. I’m confident that we are ready to go heading into the busy part of our schedule.”
