Cheek rallies to win 12th Women’s Stroke Play Championship
BENTWATER – Ella Cheek of Sachse stormed back in the final round of the 12th Women’s Stroke Play Championship to win in a one-hole playoff. Cheek fired a final-round 7-under to claim the title.
“I feel pretty good,” Cheek said. “If you would’ve told me that after I shot pretty bad the first day, I wouldn’t believe you, but it feels pretty good now.”
Cheek entered the final round in fourth place, needing to make a move to have a shot at the title. That’s exactly what she did.
The Dallas Baptist women’s golfer opened with a birdie on No. 2, then played steady with pars on Nos. 3-6 before going on a run that was impressive to watch. Starting on No. 7, Cheek birdied five holes in a row to surge up the leaderboard and put pressure on the leader.
She had another strong chance to tie for the lead on No. 16, narrowly missing an eagle putt before tapping in for par. Coming into No. 18, Cheek needed a birdie to force a playoff with Stalee Fields of Lantana. She made par instead, but a bogey from Fields on the same hole sent the two to a playoff.
Both players split the fairway on their opening tee shots in the playoff, giving them a good angle into No. 18 once again. Fields hit first and had a strong look at birdie after putting her approach to 7 feet. Cheek answered right back, putting her approach to a foot and putting the pressure on Fields. After Fields’ putt grazed the right edge of the cup and she tapped in for par, Cheek stepped up and made her birdie putt to win the title.
“I just stopped worrying about it,” Cheek said of her early rounds and what it took to come back. “I fixed it by trying not to control it and just worry about my own game.”
Cheek’s win comes on the heels of a runner-up finish at the 105th Women’s Texas Amateur presented by Hytera US.
Shannon Fish-Martin of Montgomery went wire-to-wire to win the inaugural Mid-Amateur Division. Fish-Martin was dominant all week, carding rounds of 72-68-69 for a 7-under 209 finish. Raegan Blankenship of Baytown finished second in the division, carding rounds of 75-72-74 to close at 5-over 221.
Next on the TGA women’s calendar is the 19th Women’s Four-Ball at Onion Creek Club in Austin, August 3-4.
To view final results from the 12th Women’s Stroke Play Championship, click here. To learn more about the 12th Women’s Stroke Play Championship, click here.