Central Michigan University Athletics
CMU's Padgett Chitty Captures Prestigious Georgia Match Play Title
6/1/2021 9:18:00 AM | Women's Golf
BRUNSWICK, Ga. – Some experience, a little motivation, a good support system.
Central Michigan golfer Padgett Chitty drew on it all last week in winning the Georgia State Golf Association Women's Match Play Championship at Brunswick Country Club.
Chitty, a sophomore who hails from Valdosta, Ga., defeated Allie Kantor of Milton, 3 and 2, to win the prestigious title.
Chitty shot 77-78 — 155 during 36 holes of qualifying, earning the eighth seed in the 16-woman match play bracket.
She posted a 1-up victory over Kelli Scheck of Greensboro in the round of 16, and then upset co-medalist Megan Sabol of Martinez, 3 and 2, in a quarterfinal match. In the semifinals, Chitty won 2 up over fourth-seeded Mary Murray of Augusta.
Chitty won the first two holes to go 2 up against Kantor and she never relinquished the lead. After Kantor won No. 10 to cut Chitty's lead in half, Chitty immediately answered by taking No. 11 to restore her 2-up lead. She then won 13 to go 3 up.
Kantor is a freshman-to-be at Virginia; Murray just completed her freshman year at Augusta University; and Sabol recently completed her senior season at North Georgia, earning Division II All-America honors.
The Match Play Championship is one of two GSGA "majors" and it was Chitty's first time playing the event. She said it was most gratifying to beat a very strong field comprised primarily of women who play, have played, or are going to play Division I college golf at southern schools.
Four of the past five Georgia Match Play champions have played collegiately at Georgia, Auburn or Vanderbilt.
"I wanted to prove that Central Michigan can beat all of you," said Chitty, who chose CMU over several schools in Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. "It makes me more confident in my game because it's my first big-time win since I entered college.
"I think it shows me what all I need to do to work harder and continue shooting lower scores and be as good as I can be. I think that will help me when I come back (to CMU) in August. That means a lot to me too because it shows a Central Michigan player can come down and win in their home state. It shows that you can go to a school where it's colder, or up north, and still be a great golfer."
Chitty dropped her first two holes in her opening match, to Scheck, but then warmed to the competition and had the lead by the turn. She never trailed in her ensuing three matches.
Chitty went 3-2 in five matches during CMU's spring schedule, helping the Chippewas finish a combined 5-0 and capture team trophies, first at the North Carolina A&T Aggie Spring Invitational, and then at the Battle at Boone Match Play in Florence, Ky.
That was the first time Chitty had played match play, which is different from stroke play in that players are competing to win one hole at a time against one single opponent. In stroke play, the players compete against the entire field – be it 10 players or 80 – with the lowest score winning.
"I definitely learned a lot from the two match-play events that we played this year (at CMU)," said Chitty, who is part of a core of standout recruits that have signed with the Chippewas since Jim Earle took over as coach of the program in August, 2018. "The thing that I liked the most about match play is that if you have a really bad hole, it only costs you one hole. You just move on; it doesn't hurt you as much as it does in stroke play."
The pressure – some would call it fun – that comes with match play is different than a golfer might feel during stroke play. Gamesmanship can also come into play and farther one advances in a match-play event, the higher the pressure.
"It's just you and one other person," Chitty said. "You have to be under that pressure and not crack. That was a feeling that I've never really felt before. I think that put me in a state where I was just more focused and aimed toward being more aggressive."
It helped that Chitty had an old family friend, Jim Tunison, caddy for her during her final two matches. Tunison, a judge, has helped guide Chitty through her golf career and his steady mentorship paid off at the tournament, she said.
"He is my go-to caddy," she said. "I give him a lot of credit for why I won. I don't think I would have done it without him or the support of everyone. He usually keeps me calm and distracted whenever I start getting a little overwhelmed and nervous. … He'll get me off on some topic when I'm stressing out."
Central Michigan golfer Padgett Chitty drew on it all last week in winning the Georgia State Golf Association Women's Match Play Championship at Brunswick Country Club.
Chitty, a sophomore who hails from Valdosta, Ga., defeated Allie Kantor of Milton, 3 and 2, to win the prestigious title.
Chitty shot 77-78 — 155 during 36 holes of qualifying, earning the eighth seed in the 16-woman match play bracket.
She posted a 1-up victory over Kelli Scheck of Greensboro in the round of 16, and then upset co-medalist Megan Sabol of Martinez, 3 and 2, in a quarterfinal match. In the semifinals, Chitty won 2 up over fourth-seeded Mary Murray of Augusta.
Chitty won the first two holes to go 2 up against Kantor and she never relinquished the lead. After Kantor won No. 10 to cut Chitty's lead in half, Chitty immediately answered by taking No. 11 to restore her 2-up lead. She then won 13 to go 3 up.
Kantor is a freshman-to-be at Virginia; Murray just completed her freshman year at Augusta University; and Sabol recently completed her senior season at North Georgia, earning Division II All-America honors.
The Match Play Championship is one of two GSGA "majors" and it was Chitty's first time playing the event. She said it was most gratifying to beat a very strong field comprised primarily of women who play, have played, or are going to play Division I college golf at southern schools.
Four of the past five Georgia Match Play champions have played collegiately at Georgia, Auburn or Vanderbilt.
"I wanted to prove that Central Michigan can beat all of you," said Chitty, who chose CMU over several schools in Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. "It makes me more confident in my game because it's my first big-time win since I entered college.
"I think it shows me what all I need to do to work harder and continue shooting lower scores and be as good as I can be. I think that will help me when I come back (to CMU) in August. That means a lot to me too because it shows a Central Michigan player can come down and win in their home state. It shows that you can go to a school where it's colder, or up north, and still be a great golfer."
Chitty dropped her first two holes in her opening match, to Scheck, but then warmed to the competition and had the lead by the turn. She never trailed in her ensuing three matches.
Chitty went 3-2 in five matches during CMU's spring schedule, helping the Chippewas finish a combined 5-0 and capture team trophies, first at the North Carolina A&T Aggie Spring Invitational, and then at the Battle at Boone Match Play in Florence, Ky.
That was the first time Chitty had played match play, which is different from stroke play in that players are competing to win one hole at a time against one single opponent. In stroke play, the players compete against the entire field – be it 10 players or 80 – with the lowest score winning.
"I definitely learned a lot from the two match-play events that we played this year (at CMU)," said Chitty, who is part of a core of standout recruits that have signed with the Chippewas since Jim Earle took over as coach of the program in August, 2018. "The thing that I liked the most about match play is that if you have a really bad hole, it only costs you one hole. You just move on; it doesn't hurt you as much as it does in stroke play."
The pressure – some would call it fun – that comes with match play is different than a golfer might feel during stroke play. Gamesmanship can also come into play and farther one advances in a match-play event, the higher the pressure.
"It's just you and one other person," Chitty said. "You have to be under that pressure and not crack. That was a feeling that I've never really felt before. I think that put me in a state where I was just more focused and aimed toward being more aggressive."
It helped that Chitty had an old family friend, Jim Tunison, caddy for her during her final two matches. Tunison, a judge, has helped guide Chitty through her golf career and his steady mentorship paid off at the tournament, she said.
"He is my go-to caddy," she said. "I give him a lot of credit for why I won. I don't think I would have done it without him or the support of everyone. He usually keeps me calm and distracted whenever I start getting a little overwhelmed and nervous. … He'll get me off on some topic when I'm stressing out."
Players Mentioned
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