2009 NW Conference Fall Classic Champions with Stewart Cink & Lucas Glover!

Okay, so this photo was taken “before” the Fall Classic–but thought this headline might “grab” your attention! We still can’t believe that the current British Open Champion and the U.S. Open Champion BOTH wanted their pictures taken with our team!!! Wow–they were pretty lucky to catch us on our trip to Monterey while we were passing through San Francisco!

NWC Fall Classic Champions!

So, we finished the season STRONG (as you probably have already heard–as I’m a little late with my blog!)! We WON the NW Conference Fall Classic Championship last weekend at Heron Lakes GC in Portland! Hooray! Our “Lady Bruins” rallied from being 8 strokes back going into the second day of the tournament to win by 12!!! It was a BEAUTIFUL fall day in Oregon, and it was definitely a great day to be a Lady Bruin golfer as we shot a 309 team score which shattered our old record by 17 strokes! What a day indeed! Looking forward to spring!!

DT Invitational in Monterey!

Wow! What a tournament! One that we will never forget!! Our hosts, Stone and Debra Phillips created a special time for us while on the Monterey peninsula! It’s not often that you get a chance to travel to one of the best golfing spots in the world, watch dolphins from your hotel room in the morning, and then tee it up in the afternoon with views of the Pacific ocean! It was a tough challenge on the golf course, but one that was great for the our games, and in the end, even though we didn’t quite capture the trophy, we all walked away feeling like winners!! Great playing ladies and thank you again to Stone and Debra for making our trip so memorable and fun! (Note:  More photo’s to be added soon!)

Our Florida friends, Anne & Rob Cink!

All I can say is, “wow, what a night!” After practicing at Santa Clara Golf & Tennis club, we headed into the city for dinner at Pier 39 with good friends, Anne & Rob Cink. We had a fun dinner with the Cinks, and the girls enjoyed hearing their “tour stories” (their son is Stewart) as well as what it takes to be a great golfer. We could have stayed the night listening to all the great stories.

As we were saying good-bye and taking a few photo’s by a “fake” cable car, before heading to our hotel, we had the idea to ride with the Cink’s up to their hotel on Nob Hill. That way the girls could take a cable car ride down as several gals had never been to San Fran! Our sole purpose was to do the cable car ride, and nothing else!

When we arrived at the Fairmont hotel, we found a lot of security, and Anne informed us that the “Pres. Cup” team was staying there, but that “we wouldn’t see anybody.” Our team was excited as you could feel the energy in the lobby and the “scene” seemed like a Hollywood movie set with only very well-dressed people milling around the lobby area with beautiful marble pieces, ornate furnishings, incredible crystal chandeliers and gold-glazed touches around the walls and ceiling.  We definitely didn’t quite fit the “scene” with our golf attire and white GF wind jackets!! Sarah took about 100 photo’s of the ceiling alone, and then we then headed over to the elevators to get down to the street level to catch our ride back.

As we were innocently waiting and saying our “good-bye’s,” we suddenly spotted Stewart walking toward us! We couldn’t believe it! Next thing we knew, we were chatting with Stewart and then having our picture taken with him and his partner in the Pres. Cup, Lucas Glover! Can you believe it? A photo with the 2009 British Open champ AND 2009 US Open champ–does it get any better than that?!?!

Then, as if by magic, Michael Jordan popped up behind Stewart, and let’s just say, what a surprise!! “MJ” didn’t ask to have his photo taken with us–but he was “right there!” Right there in front of us–maybe 4 feet away–at the most!! I had my camera in my hand, but I think it was frozen! We were also talking to Stewart at the time, and hey, the British Open Champ had some great mental golf tips for us, so we couldn’t let “MJ” steal the show!

So, now we are all happy and a bit “giddy” (I must admit!), and once again starting to leave, when one of my all-time favorite players  (besides Stewart!) appears behind me. I didn’t see him, but the team did, and they were motioning at me that “yes, that’s right, the captain of the Pres. Cup team Freddie Couples had strolled into my territory!!” Yikes, Freddie is standing behind me, and I can’t turn around! Haha!

Now, we are thinking, we have seen it all, when Bri’s eyes suddenly widen with shock, and I’m wondering to myself, “Do I dare turn around?”  Yep, it’s Lefty himself, Phil Mickelson, and he stops and he’s right there talking to the team!!! Once again, I’m a bit frozen thinking, “Phil Mickelson is taking the time to talk to my team? This is crazy!” He was asking them where they were playing, what tournament they were playing in, etc. Not a big deal, right?  So, another pic with Phil, and the gold on the ceiling is definitely starting to spin.

We regain consciousness, and decide that we had better leave before Adam or Tiger walk in, and the entire team loses it!! For safe measure though, we snap one last photo with Anthony Kim who was casually walking by after a work out! He was a little hesitant to have his picture taken just after working out, but he agreed to go for it! Why not?

Wow–what a night indeed! Hey Anne, you said, “we wouldn’t see anybody?!” Haha!! We left the hotel without really needing a cable car ride. I think we floated down to Fisherman’s wharf!

With a 4 stroke lead going into the second round of the Whitman Invitational, our Lady Bruins pulled away again, and captured the win with Brianna Nap and Mandy Cameron finishing in first and second place as individuals! The Bruin team won by 22 strokes! P.S. We liked the trophies at this event!!!   More photo’s to follow.

Two for Two!!

Victory number 2 of Fall season at the Pacific Invitational! With a 6 stroke lead going into the final round, our Lady Bruins pulled away to win by 18 strokes! We are having fun out there, and enjoying the journey! More photo’s to follow at the end of Fall season!

GFU golfers with Friendsview Execs, Bob Hanson, Dennis Russell, Elizabeth Comfort, Kelsey Schmidt & Harold McBain.

Our Lady Bruins had the opportunity to put on a short clinic for the executives and administrators from Friendsview Retirement Community yesterday before practice. We worked on putting, chipping and full swing! It was a lot of fun helping our “neighbors” get into this great game that we play! Thanks Friendview for your support of our GFU athletic programs and especially women’s golf!!

Team with 1st place trophy!

We’re off–and it’s a GREAT start to Fall Season 2009 as our GFU Women’s team took FIRST place at our own GFU Women’s Invitational!! It was a day of records, as our team score was our best team score yet at the difficult Chehalem Glenn course! Brianna Nap took medalist honors and also set an individual Bruin record with a low round of 76 (lowest round by GFU player in competition to date!) Last but not least, we raised a record amount of money for the Susan G. Komen Breast cancer fund (thus the “pink hats” in the photo!) we promoted a “Swing for the cure” day (in conjunction with the Race for the cure) and received donations for pars and birdies!! We raised over $600!  What a GREAT first day!!! Stay tuned for an exciting season–I believe the best is yet to come!

GFU women's golf team with Peggy and Bob Fowler

Last fall, the GFU women’s golf team had the opportunity to visit the Board room with Peggy Fowler, CEO of Portland General Electric and George Fox Alum! Peggy retired earlier this spring, but continues to serve on numerous Boards and to be involved in the business community. In her free time though, she can be found on the golf course with her wonderful husband, Bob!  Last weekend, the team had the chance to tee it up with them! It was a lot of fun, and the team is learning how “networking” is important no matter what path you choose!!! We are proud of Peggy and her many accomplishments, and it’s motivating knowing that not that long ago she was a freshman living in Pennington Hall!!!

Liz Ierulli helps team with putting drills!

Good friend, Liz Ierulli, came out to help the team with some putting drills!! Putting is our key to a successful season, so we were thrilled to get such great advice! Thank you Liz–you are the Master of the Greens and our team recorded some great up and downs since your help!!  Also, thank you for your donation to our breast cancer “Swing for the Cure” campaign! You are awesome!