January 2015 NWO Golf Links

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ToledoGolf&Golfers
Toledo’sTopGolfStoriesOf2014
wasinthefieldinToledoafter
winningtheRicohWomen’s
BritishOpentheweekprior,
thoughmostpeopleadvised
hertotaketheweekof.The
winnerofthefirstwomen’smajor
championshipoftheyear,the
KraftNabisco Championship,
LexiThompson alsoplayedin
ToledoandfinishedT-15.
Kowasa17-year-oldrookie
in 2014,butshe won her
secondLPGATourtitleasa
profesionalattheMarathon
ClassicinJuly.Shefireda
final roundsix-under-par65to
securetheone-shotwinover
formerU.S.Women’sOpen and 2012 Marathon Classic
ChampionSoYeonRyu.
KowasalsonamedLPGATourRookieoftheYear,wonthe
$500,000first-placecheckattheCMETourChampionshipand
colectedthe$1milionbonusforwinningtheRacetothe
CMEGlobe.
Althoughshegrew upinTexasandwenttocolegein
Arkansas,StacyLewiswasborninToledoandreturnsevery
yeartosupporttheMarathonClasic.
Lewishadanothersuccesfulyearin2014.Shewasthe
leadingmoneyontheLPGATour,colectedtheVareTrophyfor
thelowestaveragescoreontourandwasnamedPlayerofthe
Yearforthesecondtimeinthreeyears.
Sheledthe$1milionRacetotheCMEGlobeformuchofthe
year,butwasedgedoutbyKointhelasttournament.Lewis
begantheyearrankedNo.1intheRolexRankingandinspiteof
threewinsand18top-10finishesslippedtoNo.2behind
InbeePark.
ToledoAmateurs
Localresident,AlanFadelhadayearthathewilnotsoon
forget.HewontheOhioMid-AmateurChampionship forthe
thirdtimeandclaimedmedalisthonorsattheU.S.Senior
AmateurChampionshipafterthefirsttworoundsofstrokeplay.
Hewasinductedinto
theOhioGolfHalof
Fame inAugustand
witnessedtheculmination
of his dream, the
The
tournamentbroughtthe
USGA and The R&A
togetherforaWalker
Cup-likecompetitionfor
Mid-Amateurs,as wel
as,seniors.
Theinaugural Concession
Cupwasheldatthe
ConcesionGolfClub
near Tampa, Florida
andfeaturedateamof
amateurgolfers from
GreatBritain&Ireland
versusaU.S.Team.
JackNicklausandTonyJacklin,forwhomtheConcessionCup
wasnamed,servedashonorarycaptains.
Fadelwasalsonamed co-AmateurGolferoftheYearby
GlobalGolfPostinDecember.Hesharedthehonorwith
20-year-old Stanford Women’s GolfTeam member,
MariahStackhouse.
StackhouseisalsofamiliartoToledogolffans.Shereceiveda
sponsor’sexemptionintothefieldfortheMarathonClasicin
July.Shewasthefirst African-Americanwomantoearnaspoton
the Curtis Cup Team and was the only woman of
African-Americandescenttoearnaspotinthe2013U.S.
Women’sOpen.
The2014golfseasonaddedmorechapterstothelonglistof
thearea’sgolfingacomplishments.
c
The2ndeditionoftheMarathonClassicwasheldat
HighlandMeadowsGolfClub.Itboastedatop-notchfieldled
byworldNo.2StacyLewis,U.S.Women’sOpenChampion
MicheleWieandNo.3rankedLydiaKo.EvenMoMartin
ByFredAltvater