TANNENHAUF’S MARY SUITCA REPEATS AT NOPGA LADIES PROFESSIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Tannenhauf Golf Club PGA head professional Mary Suitca shot a final-round 2-over 72 to win the NOPGA’s Ladies Professional Championship for the second straight year.
The event was conducted by the Northern Ohio Section of the PGA in conjunction with the organization’s Section Professional Championship.
Suitca, who won the inaugural event at Lakewood Country Club last year, played Westfield’s North Course to a two-day total of 75-72-147, to win by a comfortable seven shots.
Trumbull Country Club Assistant Professional Emily Heikkila was second at 78-76-154 and Erin Craig, assistant professional at North Olmsted Golf Club and a teaching professional at The Turn, was third at 86-81-167.
Suitca, a former assistant at Malone University, began the day with a 3-shot lead and birdied the first hole by making an 8-foot putt.
“That got me off to a really good start, that’s for sure,” said Suitca. “It never hurts to birdie the first hole.”
She made the turn at 1-over and picked up her second birdie of the day on the 157-yard 11th hole by making a 6-footer.
While many champions credit big putts for either keeping a round alive or even winning an event, Suitca credited a pair of chip shots on the North’s 516-yard 14th and 176-yard 15th.
Her chip from about 15 yards off the green lipped out for birdie and led to a tap-in par and her chip from the left of the green on the par-3 15th stopped 12 inches from the hole and another par.
“Those two chips saved the round,” said Suitca, who birdied the par-3 11th from six feet.
She also credited her daughter, 3 ½-year-old Rylee. “She’s my practice buddy,” she said.
Winning for the second straight year is significant.
“It is great to have the opportunity to compete again,” she said. “After college I played the mini-tours and gave it a shot but after that I didn’t want anything to do with competitive golf. But, it feels great to get back into it, to play and compete again, to meet and make new friends. It just a great atmosphere to be around.”
FINAL RESULTS: Northern Ohio PGA
2022 NOPGA Ladies Professional Championship
Westfield Country Club, Westfield, Ohio
Mon Aug 22 – Tue, Aug 23, 2022
1 Mary Suitca Tannenhauf Golf Club 75-72–147 +7
2 Emily Heikkila Trumbull Country Club 78-76–154 +14
3 Erin Craig North Olmsted Golf Club 86-81–167 +27
