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Click on the date of the press release that you wish to view and you will be linked to it.
2011 DECEMBER 10 Martha Kirouac named to the Rhode Island Golf Hall of Fame
  DECEMBER 9 Sue May honored by Las Vegas Chapter of PGA
  NOVEMBER 17 Carol Fromuth awarded the MAGA Meritorious Service Award
  NOVEMBER 8 Mary Bea Porter-King - 2011 PGA First Lady of Golf Recipient
  APRIL 30 Iva May Pilcher McDonald
  APRIL 29 20th TRANS Senior Women's Four-Ball Championship
  APRIL 28 2011 TRANS Four-Ball Championship Qualifying
2010 JULY 31 Mia Piccio, 2010 TRANS Amateur Champion
  JULY 28 First Round Match Play Highlights
  JULY 27 Qualifying Rounds
  JULY 26 2010 TRANS Amateur Championship First Round of Qualifying
  JULY 7 >The TRANS Amateur Championship
  APRIL 29 19th Women's Trans Senior Four-Ball Championship
Diamond Martha Kirouac named to the Rhode Island Golf Hall of Fame
  Martha Kirouac   One of our past champions has been honored by the state of Rhode Island. Martha Wilkinson Kirouac has been elected to the Rhode Island Golf Hall of Fame. Martha was the 1970 TRANS Amateur Champion when the association name was the Trans-Mississippi Women's Amateur Championship.
   This is just one of many golf accomplishments that Martha achieved through the years. She won the Rhode Island Women's Golf Association Amateur Championship three times in 1974, 1975 and 1977; the New England Women's Amateur Championship in 1975; the National Women's Collegiate Championship in 1970. She was a member of the 1970 Women's World Amateur Team and the 1970 and 1972 Curtis Cup teams.
   She also served as the captain of the 2004 Curtis Cup Team and is a current member of the USGA Women's Committee. Congratulations, Martha.
   
Diamond Sue May honored by Las Vegas Chapter of the PGA
 

 

  The Las Vegas Chapter of the PGA presented the PGA Person of the Year award to First Vice-President Sue May at a banquet on January 10, 2012.


   Sue has served on the TRANS Board in many capacities, among them: Rules Director and Amateur Director. However, she has been active in the NCAA womens golf finals; she has officiated at several USGA competitions through the years, including the Women's Open.


   Congratulations, Sue. Keep up the good work!

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Diamond Carol Fromuth awarded the MAGA Meritorious Service Award
  Carol Fromuth   The Metropolitan Amateur Golf Association of Missouri will present its Meritorious Service Award to Carol Fromuth at their annual awards presentation in March, 2012. Carol has been the face of Junior golf in St. Louis for many years; her position as Junior Director of the Gateway PGA Section for 11 years, building that program from 300 juniors to over 1,000; her coaching responsibilities at St. Joseph's Academy and continuing now with her Accelerated Golf Tour.
   Carol has served as active volunteer with the USGA for 25 years, the latter 15 as a member of the USGA Junior Girls Golf Committee. She served as the Junior Dicrector for the Missouri Women's Golf Association. In addition, she also volunteers nationally with the NCAA, the TRANS, serving as President.
    She has begun a new career as the Tour Administrator for the Accelerated Golf Tour which offers a series of two day events throughout the midwest for advanced high school golfers and college students. She will continue to stay active in golf whether she is serving as a tour adminstrator or a rules committee volunteer.
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Diamond Mary Bea Porter-King - 2011 PGA First Lady of Golf Recipient
 

HAWAII’S MARY BEA PORTER-KING, JUNIOR GOLF LEADER AND VETERAN
RULES OFFICIAL, NAMED RECIPIENT OF 2011 PGA FIRST LADY OF GOLF AWARD

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Mary Bea Porter-King of Kapaa, Hawaii, a celebrated four-sport collegiate athlete, LPGA Tour veteran, a pioneer in junior golf within her state, and one of the country’s most respected Rules officials, has been named the recipient of the 2011 PGA First Lady of Golf Award. Porter-King, 61, will be honored at The PGA of America Awards, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012, during the 59th PGA Merchandise Show at the Orange County Convention Center’s Chapin Theater in Orlando, Fla.
  Mary Bea Porter-King Born in Everett, Wash., and raised in Costa Mesa, Calif., Porter-King began playing golf at age 7, mentored by LPGA co-founder Betty Hicks. Porter-King paved her way in junior golf by conducting a golf clinic at age 8 with Hall of Famer Patty Berg. She went on to become a four-sport star athlete at Arizona State University before devoting her career to golf. She was a co-founder of the Hawaii State Junior Golf Association in 1998; and served from 2001-06 as a member of the USGA Executive Committee and from 2006-09, as an Independent Director on The PGA America Board of Directors. As a member of the PGA Rules Committee, Porter-King has officiated for nearly two decades at golf’s premier events, including all of the game’s men’s and women’s major championships.
   “Mary Bea Porter-King’s remarkable career of service to our game is on display within her home state in a junior golf program that has produced countless success stories, and is a model for how our industry may improve the future of so many young people,” said PGA of America President Allen Wronowski. “Mary Bea also has served golf at the highest levels, a record that includes an unwavering commitment to the integrity of our sport as a premier Rules official. It is with great honor that we may now refer to her as our next PGA First Lady of Golf.”
    Porter-King served on the USGA Girls’ Junior Committee from 1994-2000, and since 2001, she has been a member of the U.S. Junior Championship Committee. In 1998, she co-founded the Hawaii State Junior Golf Association, which annually engages more than 500 juniors from elementary to high school age. The program has produced hundreds of collegiate golfers, with several program graduates including current LPGA standouts - Michelle Wie and Kimberly Kim.
   “I am very humbled by this honor; first to be honored by The PGA of America, an organization I have revered all my life, and secondly, it is so special to have my name listed with all of the previous honorees, women of whom I have so much respect,” said Porter-King. “I love this game and have spoken for many years to encourage all of us, The PGA, LPGA, and USGA, to combine efforts to develop the next core golfers. All of us, who love the game, need to do everything we can to make sure all future generations who are given the gift of golf understand, play by, and protect the core values of the game while maintaining its integrity. It is so important we all work together to develop the next core golfer to ensure that the future of the game is in good hands. Who will fill the next shoes in our sport? It is up to all of us.”
   In 2001, Porter-King was inducted into the Arizona State University Sports Hall of Fame in four sports. Competing from 1968-73 in the pre-Title IX era, she excelled in volleyball, softball, golf, and basketball. Before graduating in 1973, Porter-King was a starting second baseman for the 1971 ASU College Softball World Series Championship team, and earned 1972 All-American honors in golf, and was a member of the school’s 1970, ’71 NAIA Women’s Golf Championship teams.
   Porter-King began her professional golf career in 1973, earning LPGA Tour Qualifying School medalist honors. She captured the Golf Inns of America Classic in 1975. She left the Tour from 1983-85, and returned in 1986 and competed until her retirement in 1998. She is a past president of the Kauai Junior Golf Association, and in 2004 was inducted into the Hawaii Golf Hall of Fame. Traveling more than 100,000 miles a year, Porter-King has officiated at 14 U.S. Women's Opens, 10 U.S. Men's Opens, 10 U.S. Senior Opens, five Masters, four PGA Championships, and one Open Championship.
   Porter-King earned universal praise for a courageous act on March 16, 1988, during a qualifying round for the former LPGA Standard Register Turquoise Classic in Phoenix, Ariz. Having hooked a second shot badly on the 13th hole of Moon Valley Country Club, Porter-King approached the fence to look for her ball and saw a family in peril. Jonathan Smucker, then a 3-year-old from Ronks, Pa., had fallen into a swimming pool and was lying lifeless. Porter-King was helped over the fence by her caddie, administered CPR, awaited arrival of paramedics, resulting in saving the life of the child. For her action, she was later that year the first recipient of the Metropolitan Golf Writers Association Mary Bea Porter Humanitarian Award, honoring a heroic or humanitarian act that enhances human life. The same Association presented Porter-King this year with its MGWA Distinguished Service Award.
   Porter-King and her husband, Charlie, live in Kapaa, Hawaii. The couple has a son, Joseph, 29, of Santa Barbara, Calif.; and a daughter, Sherry, 39, married to Mike Niethammer, with three sons, Charlie, 7, Will, 4, and Max, 2, of Oahu, Hawaii.
The PGA First Lady of Golf Award, inaugurated in 1998, is presented to a woman who has made significant contributions to the promotion of the game of golf.

PGA First Lady of Golf Recipients
1998 Barbara Nicklaus   2005 Carol Semple Thompson
1999 Judy Rankin 2006 Kathy Whitworth
2000 No recipient 2007 Peggy Kirk Bell
2001 Judy Bell 2008 Carol Amnn
2002 Nancy Lopez 2009 Donna Caponi-Byrnes
2003 Renee Powell 2010 No recipient
2004 Alice Dye 2011 Mary Bea Porter-King
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Diamond Iva May Pilcher McDonald 1915-2011
 

She was our friend, our designated goodwill ambassador and we will miss her.

Iva May McDonald   Iva May Pilcher McDonald, 96, of Bay St. Louis, MS passed away on Thursday, April 28, 2011 in Bay St. Louis, MS. Iva May was born in Mexico, MO and was a longtime resident of Bay St. Louis, MS. She graduated from Gulf Park College and was Miss Gulf Park her freshman year. She then attended the University of Missouri where she graduated in Journalism with honors and was a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority. After graduation from Missouri she went on to become the editor of the Mexico Intelligencer.
   She was an avid golfer and belonged to the Womens' Trans National Golf Association where she was a contestant along with Patty Berg and Babe Zaharias. She was also a Board Director and Past President. Iva May was a Charter Member of the Gulf Coast Debutante Society, Plimsoll Club, New Orleans, LA, Metropolitan Dinner Club, The Study Club of Gulfport, MS, Pass Christian Isles Golf Club, Bay-Waveland Yacht Club, and Main Street United Methodist Church. She is the owner of Pilcher Jewelry Company in Mexico, MO which is the oldest family owned Jewelry Business in the United States that was established in 1868.

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Diamond 20th TRANS Senior Women's Four-Ball Championship
 

USGA Senior Women's Champion Mina Hardin of Fort Worth, TX, & Jennie Robinson of LaQuinta, CA, shot a final round 68 to win the Trans Senior Women's Four-Ball Championship, with a 54-hole total of 5-under par 208. 
Barbara Byrnes, Mesa, AZ, and Janie Carpenter, Garland, TX, scored three rounds of 1-under par 70 to finish 2 strokes back at 210 with Leslie Henry of Addison, TX, and Mimi Hoffman of Springfield, VA.  Henry and Hoffman were 36-hole tournament medalists(138) for the third consecutive year.
Defending champions Kim Eaton, Greeley, CO, and Christie Austin of Cherry Creek Village, CO,  tied for seventh with Mary Budke and Marcia Fisher. One hundred eighteen players from 26 states entered the 20th Trans Senior Championship played at Tubac Golf Resort in Tubac, Arizona.

Top Ten Results

208 Mina Hardin/Jennir Robinson
210 Leslie Henry/Mimi Hoffman
210 Barbara Byrnes/Janie Carpenter
212 Deborah Anderson/Marsha Butler
213 Susie-Q Conklin/Sandy Szczerbin
213 Anne Zahn/Betsy Bro
215 Kim Eaton/Christie Austin
215 Marcia Fisher/Mary Budke
216 Jewell Malick/Anna Schultz
217 Janet Weber/Carol Kitson

About theTRANS
The WTNGA voted to organize at a meeting of the Missouri Valley Women's Golf Association at Omaha Country Club in 1926. The first championship was played in June 1927 at Kansas City Country Club. The TRANS annually conducts two national championships for women--the national amateur championship and the Senior Women's Four-Ball.  The all volunteer not-for-profit organization publishes and distributes the TRANS Golf Annual Program which includes results of TRANS championships and many national, regional and state championships.

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Diamond April 28, 2011 Four-Ball Championship Qualifying
 

One hundred eighteen players from 26 states gathered Wednesday at Tubac Golf Resort in Arizona for the 20th Women's Trans National Golf Association Four-Ball Championship.

After the 36-hole qualifying, Leslie Henry, Addison, TX, and Mimi Hoffman, Springfield, VA, were medalists for the third consecutive year scoring a 4-under par 138 (72-66).

USGA Senior Women's Champion Mina Harden, Fort Worth, TX, and Jennie Robinson, LaQuinta, CA, fired rounds of 69-71 (140) and were 2 strokes back along with Barbara Byrnes, Mesa, AZ, and Janie Carpenter, Garland, TX, 70-70 (140).

Defending Champions Kim Eaton, Greeley, CO, and Christie Austin, Cherry Hills Village, CO, in ninth place with 146.

The top ten scores were placed in the First Flight, and the remainder of the field was divided into five flights.

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Diamond July 31, 2010 Mia Piccio, 2010 TRANS Amateur Champion
 

Mia Piccio, eighteen year-old Florida University student from Bocalod, Philippines, birdied the first hole in the 36-hole final match of the 80th Women's Trans National Amateur Championship.  She continued to methodically score 3-under par 69 by hitting 12 greens in regulation with 27 putts including one 3-putt green. . Agostina Parmigiani of Buenos Aires, Argentina, hit eleven greens and managed two birdies with 31 putts. .  Parmigiani is a fourth year student at Universidad del Salvador, Argentina, working toward a Bachelor of Physical Activity and Sports.

In the continuation of the match, Parmigiani birdied holes 9, 10 & 11 to bring the match to only 3-down. After hole 15, Piccio was dormie.  The 16th hole was tied with pars, after Parmigiani's birdie putt lipped the hole. Short putts were conceded and Piccio was declared the champion.  Parmigiani is a fourth year student at Universidad del Salvador, Argentina, working toward a Bachelor of Physical Activity and Sports.

Fifteen international players vied for 64 spots in the championship. Australia-3 Argentina-3, Malaysia-1, Ireland-1, Philippines-7.  All qualified for match play. It is back to back years for an all international TRANS final, and the third overall. Defending champion Julia Boland of Sydney, Australia, fell to Ohio State University student Rachel Rohanna of Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, in the second round. Collegiate and junior players dominated the field. Two Mid-Amateur players, Meghan Stasi and Kerry Postillion, reached the quarterfinals and senior Kim Eaton lost in the first round of match play. 

The Powder Horn in Sheridan, Wyoming, will host TRANS, July 26-31, 2011.

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Diamond July 28, 2010 First Round Match Play Highlights
 

TRANS Tournament Medalist Mia Piccio of the Philippines defeated Hannah Collier of Birmingham, Alabama, 4 & 3 in the first round of match play. Collier is a recent High School graduate playing in her first national golf championship has committed to the University of Alabama Women's Golf Team. TRANS Junior Medalist, Dottie Ardina, Laguna, Philippines, won over Samantha Postillion of Scottsdale, Ariz. 6 & 5.  Postillion will be a freshman at the University of Texas starting in August.

More results:
In a twenty-hole match, Anna Christenson of Oro Valley, Ariz., defeated S. Dak. native Maggie Murphy. Murphy is a member of the University of New Mexico Women's Golf Team.
In an international match, Beverly Mendoza from the Philippines who enjoyed a hole-in-one during qualifying, fell to defeat in a first round match  to Alison Whitaker, a member of the Duke Blue Devil's Women's Team from Melbourne, Australia.

Defending Champion Julia Boland from Sydney, Australia, defeated Jacqueline Williams, Univ. of Calif. Berkley, on the 22nd hole with par. Academic All American and UNLV Women's Team Member from Mesa, Ariz., Kristen Schelling defeated Sarah Thead, Poway, Calif. 5&4. Stephanie Kolbas of Lincoln lost 5&4 to Meghan Stasi of Oakland Park, Fla., 2008 & 2009 US Women's Mid-Amateur Champion and 2008 USA Curtis Team member

Seven players from the Philippines arrived in Lincoln for the 80th TRANS Championship. All seven qualified for match play and won three of four TRANS Perpetual Trophies provided for the stroke play portion of the championship.
Mia Piccio, Trans Medalist; Dottie Ardina, Junior Medalist; the duo also ran away with the Howell Team Trophy.
Mendoza, Rodriguez, Dela Paz and Ikeda lost in the first round of match play with Piccio, Ardina and Guioguio advanced to the second round.

Ashley McKenney from Scottsdale, Ariz., a 2010 Conference USA Champion, lost to Heather Lott of Baton Rouge, La. on the 19th hole. USGA 2009 Girls' Junior Champion of Fargo, N. Dak., Amy Anderson lost to Jenny Schneider, Mitchell, S. Dak., on the 20th hole. Kamryn Ruffin of Pryor, Oklahoma made her fourth appearance in the TRANS with defeating Julia Thead of Poway, California, 2 & 1 in the first round matches. University of Minnesota student from Omaha, Nebr. Mary Narzisi lost to Demi Runas of Torrance, CA, on the 17th hole.University of Nebraska Women's Golf Team member Madeleine Sheils ousted Philippino Marie (Bambee) Dela Paz. in 19 holes. Senior Medalist Kim Eaton of Greeley, Colo. was defeated by Catherine Dolan, from Ballwin, Missouri, 7 & 5.

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Diamond July 27, 2010 Qualifying Rounds

Lincoln Neb- Qualifying for the 80th TRANS National Championship 36 hole match play was completed today with the top 64 players moving on. In perfect weather the 6,230 yards, 36-36- 72 par was no match for seven players from the Philippines all qualifying for match play. Mia Picco of Bocalod, Philippines fired a 2 under par 70 in the second round to add to a one-over par and become the TRANS tournament medalist with 143. Dottie Ardina of Laguna, Philippines, shot even par 72-72-144 to win Junior Medalist honors.  The Senior Medalist trophy went to Kim Eaton of Greeley, Colo. with 76-82-158.

The Mother/Daughter duo of Kerry and Samantha Postillion qualified for match play. Daughter Samantha will go head to head against Junior medalist Dottie Ardina. Two of the 2009 Top Ten Women Amateur Golfers playing in the championship are Meghan Stasi, Oakland Park, FL, (73-75-148) and defending champion Julia Boland, Syndey, Australia (77-75-152). Boland will meet Jacqueline Williams of Fair Oaks, Calif. in the first round of match play. 2009 USGA Girls' Junior Champion Amy Anderson, (74-79-153) of Oxbow, North Dakota will meet Jenny Schneider Mitchell, South Dakota at 12:08 p.m. Wednesday. University of Nebraska Women's Golf Team members qualifying for match play
Madeleine Sheils, Boise, Idaho (76-73-149).

Six players, Carly Childs, Hannah Collier, Sarah Faller, Samantha Postillion, Sofia Toccafondi and Katelyn Wright tied with 162 in a play off for 4 places.  Those advancing to the match play were Collier, (Birmingham, Ala) Faller (Ireland), Postillion (Scottsdale, AZ) and Toccafondi (Argentina).

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Diamond July 26, 2010
Lincoln- The Country Club of Lincoln is the home of the 2010 Women’s TRANS
National Amateur Championship. The tree-lined course is set up at 6, 230 yards, Par 36-36-72.

   Competing for the finalist are 105 women and the 2009 Champion Julia Boland, 24 year old graduate student at Texas A & M, from Sydney, Australia. The field consists of players from all over the United States, Australia, Ireland and the Philipines. This is the third time the TRANS has been played at The Country Club of Lincoln with the last visit in 1980 won by current University of Miami Golf Coach, Patti Rizzo. TRANS is a week long event with Monday and Tuesday consisting of qualifying rounds and four days of match play.  After the two days of qualifying rounds the field will be cut to the top 64 players.
   After day one of the qualifying round Tulane University golfer Ashley McKenney of Scottsdale, Arizona leads the field with two under-par 70, followed by University of Las Vegas golfer Kristen Schelling of Mesa, Arizona, Chihiro Ikeda of Laguna, Philippines and Duke golfer Alison Whitaker of Melbourne, Australia all one under-par 71.
   Beverly Mendoza of Mandaluyong Philippines had a hole-in-one on number 10, a 144 yard par three at The Country Club of Lincoln using a 6 iron. She recently qualified for the US Women’s Amateur for the first time. It was also her first hole-in-one. Mendoza completed her freshman year at Texas Tech with a 4.0 GPA.
   The two day stroke play qualifier will be completed tomorrow with the top 64 players moving on to compete in the four day match play. The 36 hole match play final will be played Saturday starting at 7:30 a.m.

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July 7, 2010 The TRANS Amateur Championship

The Country Club of Lincoln
Lincoln, Nebraska
July 26-31, 2010

   Number One Priority for defending champion Julia Boland of Sydney, 2009 Australian National Champion, is to retain the Trans title for the second consecutive year.  The pressure will be on as 112 entries into the 80th women's Trans National Amateur championship will be challenging for the win.
   While playing in Trans at Tennessee National in 2009, Boland became friends with Trans Champion Ashley Freeman, a member of Texas A&M Women's Golf Team.   Freeman contacted her coach and soon there after Boland was enrolled in a graduate program at Texas A&M, and a welcomed member of the Women's Golf Team.       
   Entries from 29 states include California (19), Nebraska (13), Arizona (10), Texas (7), followed by Florida (6) and Colorado & Kansas (5).  USGA Girls Junior Champion AMY ANDERSON of Oxbow, ND, (recently named non-school athlete of the year by the North Dakota Associated Press Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association) tops a list of entries which include 2010 Women's Western G.A. Finalist Dottie Ardina of Lipa City, Philippines, Kyle Roig, Pembroke Pines, FL, 2010 Harder Hall Women's Invitation Champion; outstanding senior player Kim Eaton of Greeley, CO, and numerous talented collegiate players.
   The Trans Championship will be played at The Country Club of Lincoln, July 26-31 with 18 holes stroke play on Monday and Tuesday, followed by match play with a scheduled 36-hole final on Saturday.

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Diamond April 29, 2010 19th Women's Trans Senior Four-Ball Championship
 

The Quarry, San Antonio, Texas
Yardage 6618, Par 72

COLORADOANS TRANS FOUR-BALL CHAMPIONS
   Kim Eaton and Christie Austin of Greeley, Colorado, topped the field by four strokes in scoring 10 under-par for the 54-hole tournament.   Eaton is enjoying the Victor Hugo adage of "fifty is the youth of old age". After turning fifty late in 2010, she has won the Colorado State Women's Senior Championship, the Arizona State Senior, and Jones/Doherty Senior, played in Florida in January.
   Eight teams were in contention for the Trans Four-Ball title going into the final round. Olive Henry, Addison, Texas, and Mimi Hoffman, Springfield, Virginia, were tied with Eaton/Austin at 137.  Henry/Hoffman shot 6-under 66 for the low score of the tournament. Players had high praise for The Quarry, saying it was challenging, fair and fun.

Results:
Austin/Eaton -70-67-69---206
Henry/Hoffman-71-66-73---210
Bro/Zahn-69-71-72---212
Anderson/Butler-73-69-71---213
Malick/Schultz-72-67-74---213
Albertson/Byrnes-72-71--73---216
Jackson/Knott-72-69--76---217
Barker/Davis-71-71-76---218

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