MV Golf Classic establishes women’s bracket

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The winning women's team (missing Caroline Taylor), from left: Nancy Shemeth, Betsy Dripps, Joann Mettler, and Eve Suhr. — Thomas Hallahan

A thick bank of fog enveloped 80 golfers as they prepared to set off in the early hours of Sunday to compete in the seventh annual Hospice of MV Golf Classic at the Mink Meadows Golf Club in West Chop.

History was made as local female golfers competed in their own bracket, with the possibility of winning the tournament title, for the first time since the competition’s inception. In the end, the women came close, but fell a mere four strokes short of winning the tournament outright.

The team of Ejaz Choudry, Ned Grandin, Bob Jaffee, Alan Kaplan, and Deb Lawrence won with a net score of 57.1.

Four women’s fivesomes, organized by Jane Barbini of Edgartown, competed in their own division. The female groups played from the shorter red tees and with a handicap system in effect. Nancy Shemeth, Betsy Dripps, Caroline Taylor, Eve Suhr, and Joann Mettler completed the par-72 course with a net score of 60.3.

Cheers could be heard when the names of the pioneering women captains, Ellen Serusa of Vineyard Haven, Mary Lou DeLong of West Tisbury, and Ms. Shemeth and Colette Vargas of Edgartown, were announced during the introductions. As the heavy mist continued to build, the cheers turned to cries of “Is it OK to hit?” and “Are you out there?” as golfers searched for the groups in front of them for fear of hitting them.

Meanwhile, back at the clubhouse, the new head chef for this event, Hospice volunteer Barbara Phillips and other helpers, were putting together a tasty array of homemade food for a hungry group of golfers who had just spent five hours battling the fog and their golf games.