Belllingham, Wash. (Tuesday, May 12, 2009) – Seventeen year olds, Sue Kim of Langley, B.C. and Pamela Burneski of Surrey, B.C. managed to maintain their overnight lead and capture the 10th WSGA Women’s Best-Ball Championship. Kim and Burneski battled with five-time champions, Leslie Folsom and Jane Harris both of Seattle, Wash. all day but managed to pull ahead by one after a Folsom three putt on the par-4 seventeenth hole. On the par-3 eighteenth, Folsom and Harris both missed the green left while Kim and Burneski hit shots to roughly 12 and 18 feet. Harris’ bunker shot nearly found the cup but missed on the edge and a Burneski birdie was the deciding putt. Both teams finished the day with best-ball rounds of two-under par, 70.

2009 WSGA Women's Best-Ball Champions (L to R) - Pamela Burneski and Sue Kim

The Women’s Best-Ball was contested over 36-holes of play. The two player teams played four-ball stroke play each day. In four-ball stroke play, two competitors play as partners, each playing their own ball. The lower score of the partners is the score for the hole.

This is one of 8 state championships conducted annually by the WSGA. Other championships include the WSGA Men’s and Senior Men’s Best-Ball, WSGA Women’s and Senior Women’s Amateur, WSGA Men’s Amateur, WSGA Men’s and Women’s Member Club Team Championship, WSGA Senior and Super Senior Men’s Amateur, WSGA Parent/Child Championship and the WSGA Champion of Champions.

In 1922, the Washington State Golf Association (WSGA) was established in order to conduct our state amateur golf championship. Since its humble beginnings more than 85 years ago, the WSGA has evolved into one of the largest amateur golf associations in the United States, providing a multitude of benefits and services to approximately 80,000 individual men, women, senior, and junior members at over 600 member golf clubs and 270 golf courses throughout the state of Washington and Northern Idaho. The WSGA also works tirelessly to promote, foster, and grow the game of golf in its region through its support of golf related charities and “good for the game” programs.

The WSGA is a 501(c)4 non-profit, amateur golf association governed by men and women volunteer, amateur golfers. The 25-person WSGA Board of Directors employs a full-time staff of 13 individuals. WSGA members pay an annual membership fee, through their golf club, to belong to the Association. The WSGA also serves as a state-wide representative of the United States Golf Association (USGA) and works closely with a number of allied associations within the golf industry for the betterment of the game.