Sarah Hoffman tees off on the 10th hole at Leslie Park Golf Course, Sunday, en route to victory in the Ann Arbor Women's Championship.Sarah Hoffman followed up her opening round 75 with a second round 77, then defeated Minjoo Lee (who fired a tournament-low, final round 74) in a playoff to win the 2009 Ann Arbor Women's Championship Sunday at Leslie Park Golf Course.
The win came in a year where the women's tournament had an all-time low number of participants. Only 27 women teed it up this year to vie for the title, a disturbing downward trend that wasn't lost on the golfers.
Hoffman herself expressed her desire to have more college and high school golfers play in the tournament to beef up the field and make it more competitive. "It would be nice if more girl's my age played." She said.
Long-time tournament participant, and former champion Susan Macinkowicz also expressed her concern at the dropping numbers of participants. "I don't understand it," Macinkowicz said, "it's such a great course; one of the best muni's I've ever played, and they do such a great job...it's just a great couple of days."
The upcoming men's championship in mid-July, once immune from low participation numbers, has fallen in recent years as well. Less than five years ago, the tournament field of 156 would fill in less than a week once it opened to non-residents (the first week to enter was limited to residents only) and it wasn't unusual to have as many as 20 golfers on waiting list to get in the field.
The past two years that hasn't been an issue. With fields in the mid-140's, it was still the largest local tournament, but the days of making sure to enter early seem to be over.
I entered the men's tournament on Saturday, a good three weeks after entries were being accepted. In year's past that would have been too late, but this year I was only entry number 77. With only three weeks until the tournament tees off, that's less than half of last year's field. It's makes me wonder if the field will even hit 1oo for this year's championship.
Why this is happening and what is the solution? After all, despite the dour economy, recreational golf rounds are way up at Leslie Park the past two years, even as tournament fields plunge.
Is the entry fee just too steep? ($150) Are local players too intimidated to play tournament golf? Is a three-day tournament too long for most players?
I'd like to hear from local golfers to see what they think. Let's start a forum right here to see if we can solve this problem.
Lon,
ReplyDeleteHow many entries did the field end up having this year? Miles of Golf sent an announcement earlier this week indicating that the entry deadline had been waived and that it was still possible to enter.
My quick takes on your questions:
--Entry fee might be steep, but considering that it includes three rounds and that there isn't a handicap limit, I think the fee is appropriate.
--Are local players too intimidated for tournament golf? I doubt it. Why would that have changed all of the sudden. I didn't think I would be able to play this year. It turns out that I probably could have. Whether it's a good idea for 10-handicappers like me to play is a separate question, but I assume that until the field gets crowded again it's probably not a terrible idea.
--Three days too long? That seems possible. But there again, why was it OK recently (when the fields were full) if it's a problem now?
--I think the local economy, the obvious explanation for so many things around here, is at least a big part of the problem in this case.
Finally, I hope your first round went well. Let us know how it's going.
Monty
Monty,
ReplyDeleteFirst round 75, pretty much my average around the place.