Alliance Newsletter Fall 2013 | Seite 6

Alliance News Issue 1 Fall 2012 Lengfeld from Page 5 organization WGANC, felt that the prospects for team competition in junior golf were too sparse. “Golf really becomes a different game when it’s played as a team sport,” said O’Brien. “These girls get to play in their league but we wanted them to have an opportunity to really compete together, rather than relying on individuals. It was an aspect of competitive golf we thought these girls should have an opportunity to learn.” The Lengfeld Tournament is in its third year and has been rapidly expanding to include more schools and provide the opportunity to as many high school girls as possible. This year the WGANC and PWGA collaborative hosted 90 girls from 15 area high schools for the annual tournament. "We wanted to present these high school girls golf teams with a quality tournament experience, and were both excited at the prospect of our associations collaborating on a Junior Girls Golf event. We then named the tourney in honor of Helen Lengfeld the founder of the PWGA and a former President of the WGANC and a true champion of women's golf in Northern California." Lengfeld, who began taking golf lessons at the tender age of 8 and went on to become the youngest member of the now Peninsula Golf and Country Club of San Mateo in 1912 would have been proud of the competition held in her honor. Appropriately named by Golf Digest as one of the five most influential women in golf, a diehard philanthropist and competitive golfer herself, Lengfeld continues to inspire and progress women in the great game of golf even in her absence. Whitney High school, which has been competing since the tournament began three years ago, is ecstatic about the opportunity this type of competition provides young women. http://www.womensgolfalliance.org Photo by Brittany Bradley of PWGA Rocklin High School’s Danielle Lozano sizes up a putt with her appropriately pink ball at the Sunset Whitney Golf Course during the Helen Lengfeld Memorial Tournament. Lozano was responsible for an 87 of the Rocklin’s winning 418 points. "Its fun, it’s a neighborhood tradition and it’s right in our backyard," said Laura Faber Whitney High School coach. " This promotes and makes visible the benefits of having a tournament for just the girls. So any time we can promote the sport and support it, as opposed to just being able to watch it on T.V., is really good." Despite the youth of the Lengfeld tournament it's clear that this type of competition is in demand for young competitive female golfers. The turn out and scores speak for themselves. 6