KirkwoodGolf: LPGA LEGENDS TOUR HANDA CUP MATCH

Friday, October 27, 2006

LPGA LEGENDS TOUR HANDA CUP MATCH

CATHY PANTON-LEWIS NAMED IN REST
OF THE WORLD “GOLDEN OLDIES” TEAM

Cathy Panton-Lewis, winner of 14 events on the forerunner of the Ladies European Tour between 1979 and 1988, is the only British player named in the Rest of the World team to play the United States in a senior women’s professional golf match.
The inaugural 12-a-side contest for the Handa Cup – donated by Japanese businessman and philantrophist Dr Haruhisa Handa, will be played Aover The Slammer & Squire Course at World Golf Village, St Augustine in Florida on December 16 and 17.
The first day’s play will feature nine holes of foursomes, nine holes of better-ball and nine holes of a “Texas Scramble” format. The second and final day will consist of 12 singles ties.
Born at Bridge of Allan, daughter of John Panton, MBE, one of Scotland’s most successful professional golfers of yesteryear, Cathy now lives at Sunningdale. She had her 51st birthday last June.
In her amateur days, Cathy won the 1976 British women’s open amateur championship at Silloth on Solway, the same year that she was named Scottish Sportswoman of the Year.
Turning pro in 1978, she was a founder member of the British women’s professional golf tour in 1979 and won its first Order of Merit.
Unlike her contemporaries on the British women’s pro golf scene, Cathy has played periodically on the Legends Tour which was founded in 2001 and is the LPGA’s official tour for over-45s. She has won $38,959 in fleeting visits to the States.
The teams for the Handa Cup match are:
UNITED STATES – Amy Alcott, Pat Bradley, Joanne Carner, Jane Geddes, Sandra Hainie, Chris Johnson, Rosie Jones, Marilyn Lavander, Nancy Lopez, Martha Nause, Cindy Rarick, Patty Sheehan. Captain – Kathy Whiteworth.
REST OF THE WORLD – Dawn Coe-Jones (Canada), Alicia Dibos (Peru), Maria Alice Gonzalez (Brazil), Sally Little (South Africa), Mieko Nomura (Japan), Michiko Okada (Japan), Anne-Marie Palli (France), Cathy Panton-Lewis (Scotland), Barb Bunkowsky Sherbank (Canada), Jan Stephenson (Australia), Angie Tsai (Taiwan), Nayoko Yoshikawa (Japan). Captain – Hisako Higuchi (Japan).