CNMI wins Marianas Ladies Cup Challenge 2023 vs. Guam

Golfers of the CNMI Women’s Golf Association and Guam Women’s Association wrapped up the 7th Annual Marianas Ladies Cup Challenge 2023 last weekend at the Coral Ocean Resort Saipan golf course.

Saturday was a two-person best ball format with CNMI taking a 3.5-2.5 lead. The second day on Sunday, was an individual stroke play format, with the CNMI team once again taking the lead with an 8-4 final, for a total of 11.5-6.5 to win the tournament and the perpetual trophy.

Net prize trophies were also given to the Top 3 handicap of the tournament. First place went to CWGA’s Sunny Hyun Son with 78; second was GWA’s Tessie Blair with 79; and third place was Yuko Togawa from CWGA with 81.

On the first day, it was a nail-biting tie between Guam and the CNMI by the time Team 5 came up at 2.5 each. Then, the CNMI’s Team 6 of Flor Jones and Kyunga Park scored a point against Guam’s Rose Cunliffe and Rose Tarpley to land the close 3.5-2.5 win against Guam.

For Day 2, it was smooth sailing for CNMI. The game was tied up, 4-4, until the CNMI’s ninth golfer came in. From there, all CNMI golfers until the 12th scored a point each for an 8-4 win against Guam.

The 2023 Marianas Cup committee included Togawa as its president, Terry Guerrero as the captain, and Lorraine Babauta as the co-captain.

The rest of the CNMI team included Lydia Tan, Sae Hee Kim, Eunae Chang, Niramai Koebel, Eunae Jang, and Lou Kim.

The committee said, “We would like to extend our utmost appreciation to all the sponsors that have contributed to this event and to our exceptional group of players this year for their great performance…most especially, a big thank you to our Guam team for making it over to Saipan for the competition!”

The sponsors of the tourney were the CNMI Federation of Golf Associations, Marianas Visitors Authority, Tan Holdings, BFJ Corporation/Top Shelf, Northern Marianas College, MarPac, Tasi Tours, Coral Ocean Resort, and Guam Women’s Golf Federation.