Spring Creek sweeps team honors

LASALLE — It had been quite a few years since Spring Creek last captured the Illinois Valley Women’s Golf Open championship. So long that team member Kathy Potthoff had to take a look at the trophy to find out exactly when it had been.

On Sunday, Spring Creek captured its first team championship in 12 years, defeating tournament host Oak Ridge 362-367. In 1998, Spring Creek also defeated the host club at Hidden Lake Country Club in Sheffield.

“No. 1, we were out here to have fun,” Spring Creek’s Potthoff said. “We were glad to have 10 representatives from our club. Spring Creek has more support for this tournament year after year after year and we were glad to see we got the numbers again this year. It’s a steady core of golfers that not only like to come out and compete. They enjoy the people the play with it. They had so much fun.”

Spring Creek took top honors scoring with Bekki Prokup (90), Hilda Koppens (90), Kathy Potthoff (91) and Linda Templeton (91). Other team members are Lori Kierski, Cheryl Weistart, Barb Mertes, Bebe Jacobs, Barbi Prokup and Paul Blanco.

Spring Creek, which will host next year’s IVWO, also won the tournament in 1977, 1978 and 1997.

The Spring Valley women also would have taken the low net team championship, but was ineligible to claim both team titles. The low net trophy went to Green River of Walnut at 275, a team consisting of Angie Carl, Rosie Wallace, Karen Anderson, Brenda Liggett and Tammy Howlett.

Liggett led the Green River ladies by taking top honors in C Flight with a 95.

• Keeping it in the family: Good golf certainly runs in the blood for Green River’s Carl. She hasn’t golfed in the tournament for a few years, but came away with the A Flight title Sunday, shooting twin rounds of 88 to match Hunter’s Ridge’s Gwen Holmes for the sixth best score of the day.

Carr is the daughter of three-time champ Roberta Benevento of Walnut, who last won in 2000 and placed third in 2009, but did not play this year.