Red Wolf prevails in Tribune Cup

The host team made a stunning comeback to claim first place overall as temperatures climbed into the 80s at the conclusion of the third and final round of the 55th Tribune Cup women’s golf tournament held Tuesday at Clarkston’s Red Wolf Golf Club.

The six-woman Red Wolf team combined for 25 1/2 points in the round under the tournament’s match-play scoring system to reach a cumulative total of 61 1/2, edging past Lewiston Golf and Country Club’s final mark of 59 1/2. Quail Ridge Golf Course came in third with 41.

Each of the three golf clubs hosted a day of competition — one in May and one in June before the finale — with defending champion LGCC holding a double-digit lead through the first two before Red Wolf mounted what team member Helen Henry called a “pretty crazy” rally for the win.

“We just have a great team,” Henry said. “There’s good camaraderie, and these guys know this course. That makes a difference; there’s a lot more trees on this course than anywhere else.”

Margaret Hair spearheaded the Red Wolf victory with the day’s only individual perfect score of six points under the match-play system, which does not use running hole-to-hole stroke totals as in conventional golf scoring, but awards points for winning the most holes within a three-person group (in this case, one player from each team) on the front nine, back nine and overall.

“I had a lucky day,” said Hair, who has competed in the Tribune Cup several times over the past decade. “Felt really good about it, and I hope it continues.”

Another highight of the day came when second-time participant Jody Servatius of LGCC earned the field’s only eagle, sinking a long shot to finish a par-4 in two strokes on her final hole.

“My drive was really bad, then my second shot went in,” Servatius said. “That’s it.”

Other Tribune Cup competitors whose names readers might recognize included former Lewis-Clark State golfer Carlee Rhodes, returning for her second year with LGCC, and Lewiston High coach Jessica Shawley, competing for Quail Ridge.

Following the end of the day’s play, participants gathered around a reserved table inside the clubhouse for celebratory champagne and lunch as the scores were tabulated and announced.

This capped a successful return to a multiple-installment format after last year saw the Cup come out of a COVID-era hiatus as a shortened one-day event. There had been talk of making single-day Cups the new norm, but participants said it “didn’t feel right.”

Previous multiple-day Cups had consisted of one round at each site per week, while this year’s edition moved to a once-monthly basis.

“It just worked out better with everybody’s schedules,” said organizer and LGCC team member Marcy Spilker, who expects the monthly format to continue next year with Quail Ridge Golf Course hosting the final round.

Team scores — 1. Red Wolf Golf Club (Brandy Kellar, Helen Henry, Sharon Vahlkamp, Mary Lauritzen, Margaret Hair, Bonnie Coles), 61 1/2; 2. Lewiston Golf & Country Club (Penny Jacks, Carlee Rhodes, Marcy Spilker, Jody Servatius, Debbie Lee, Susan LaFay), 59 1/2; 3. Quail Ridge (Stephanie Hough, Colleen Schilling, Karen Haugen, Jessica Shawley, Dawn Packwood, Holly Munn), 41.

Wendt may be contacted at (208) 848-2268, or cwendt@lmtribune.com.