`Who Woulda Thunk?'
An unlikely foursome wins the Pro-Am in Grand
Blanc, and makes history in the process.
LONNY GOLDSMITH STAFF WRITER
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C oming into the event on
Aug. 6, the women were
just happy to be there.
By the time they
reached the 13th hole, they
knew they could win.
Lynda Thal, Anita Mellen,
Marcia Auster and Nancy Ep-
stein, along with Professional
Golf Association star Frank No-
bilo of New Zealand, won the
1997 Buick Open Pro-Am at
Warwick Hills Golf Club in
Grand Blanc. The event was the
day before the weekend-long
Buick Open began at the sub-
urban Flint club.
"It was the opportunity of a
lifetime for a golfer," Mellen
said. "We were in a situation of
having to think what a pro
would do in the situations we
were in."
The win was the first ever for
an all-women team at the Buick
Open Pro-Am.
The foursome won the oppor-
tunity to play by advancing
through two qualifying tourna-
ments — both were scrambles
where each player hits their
own shot, and then all play from
where the best shot landed. The
first tournament was at their
own club, Tam O'Shanter in
West Bloomfield; the second was
at Oakland University's Khaki
Cousins Golf Club in Roches-
ter.
"Mary Tamaroff Buick spon-
sored the qualifier at Tam,"
Thal said. "The second qualifi-
er was for foursomes that were
sponsored by Buick dealers
statewide."
When the women won at the
Oakland course, they were en-
tered in the Pro-Am free of
charge and given the use of a
Buick courtesy car for two
weeks.
On Aug. 4, the group went to
a Flint hotel for the pairing lot-
tery, which is where decision-
making started.
"Each of us wanted to have a
different pro for the tourna-
ment," Thal said. The pros they
wanted were Tiger Woods, U.S.
Open champ Ernie Els, former
Masters winner Fred Couples,
and Nobilo.
"By the time we got to pick,"
Thal said. "Nobilo was the last
one left."
Fate was on the foursome's
side for the outing. Nobilo, they
discovered, was 21st in the
World Golf Rankings.
They were classified as group
number 21 for the Pro-Am.
They shot 21-under par.
"We got the best pro and cad-
dy we could have hoped to
have," Mellen said. "They were
genuinely warm and enthusi-
astic, and extended themselves
to help us."
The outcome of the event was
in question until the 17th hole,
when Auster made the putt that
gave them the lead.
"Frank told me afterwards
that if one of the leaders had
that putt to make in the last
couple of holes on the final day,
he wouldn't have done as well,"
she said.
The women's husbands
served as their caddies. For Ep-
stein's husband, the opportunity
was a chance to get back to his
start in golf.
"I started as a caddy, and I've
been watching most of my life,"
Steve Epstein said. "Caddying
for my wife was fun, and it
was a good tournament atmos-
phere."
For Auster, the victory was
the highlight of her golf ca-
reer.
"When you can walk 18 holes
inside the ropes with a pro
golfer, it doesn't get much bet-
ter," she said.
Even during the weekend
tournament, Nobilo couldn't
stop talking about the win.
"Linda ran into the caddy of
[pro golfer] Ben Crenshaw," said
Auster. "And he said that Frank
had been talking to everyone
about what a great day he
had."
❑
Tennis Team
Wins To Advance
The doubles team of Lauren
Gottlieb-Ford of Farmington
Hills and Glynette Gottlieb-
Wolk of Bloomfield Hills were
part of the Square Lake Racquet
Club (SLRC) team that defeat-
ed Sportsclub (West Bloomfield)
4-1 that gave SLRC the Unit-
ed States Tennis Association
state title at level 2.5 (beginner).
The sisters defeated their op-
ponents 6-0, 6-1.
The competition was held at
the Rochester Hills Tennis and
Swim Club the weekend of Aug.
1-3. With the win, SLRC ad-
vances to the Western Sectional
USTA League Championships
in Indianapolis.
The sectionals start today
and run through Sunday. The
winning team advances to the
national finals at the National
Tennis Center in Flushing,
N.Y.
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