Cherif Essakali wins Citrus Golf Trail Ladies Invitational
By Ruth Anne Lawson, Highlands News-Sun
The fourth and final round of the 2023 Citrus Golf Trail Ladies Invitational took place on New Year’s Eve at Sun ‘N Lake Golf Club. The ladies hit the links and spectators followed along on the Deer Run Course to see who would take home the coveted orange jacket.
After all was said and done it was Sofia Cherif Essakali who came in four under par with 68 strokes to take the win with a final four-day total of 282 (71 for day one, 74 day two, 69 day three and 68 day four). Her shining moment came on hole No. 14 when she sank a shot from 97 yards out for eagle. She took home the trophy, $400 prize and the orange jacket.
“I’m very happy to win this tournament,” Essakali said. “I was leading the first day but didn’t play so great on the second day. Today I had a great round. I unfortunately doubled on (hole) 17 but that was OK because I dunked my 50-degree wedge on 14 so that was a great bonus for eagle. It was very stressful today; I made some great putts, made two chips and I got the job done so I’m very happy.
“The course was great; some holes were in great shape but holes one through four, the greens were kind of bumpy. This is my second year playing. I’m very happy to have won. Thank you to the Citrus Golf Trail for organizing this tournament. I would like to thank my mom and my family for supporting me.”
Chloe Schiavone (72, 73, 70, 69) claimed second place with a total of 284 strokes. The 2022 winner, Thanana Kotchasanmanee, (75, 71, 68, 71) rounded out the top three with 285. Fourth place went to Angela Zhang (71, 73, 70, 72) who came in with 286. Sarah Shao (75, 67, 74, 71) placed fifth when she shot 287.
Yeji Kwon finished with 291 (72, 71, 76, 72); Alexsandra Lapple, 292 (75, 71, 76, 70); Vanessa Borovilos, 292 (78, 70, 73, 71); Angelina Tolentino, 293 (72, 77, 74, 70); Shauna Liu, 294 (72, 71, 77, 74); Joline Truong, 295 (77, 75, 70, 73); Carlee Meilleur, 296 (73, 75, 75, 73); Clara Ding, 296 (75, 77, 71, 73); Jenna Madden, 297 (73, 74, 77, 73); Yu Bai, 298 (79, 74, 73, 72); Anne Fernandez, 298 (80, 71, 73, 74); Jordan Levitt, 298 (75, 75, 72, 76); Bridget Yu, 299 (80, 71, 77, 71); Brianna Castaldi, 299 (74, 79, 72, 74) and Swetha Sathish, 300 (78, 74, 77, 71).
As for the local ladies, Hannah Castillo came in with a total of 329 strokes (85, 84, 78, 82) while Rebecca Kesling finished with a total of 359 (94, 88, 93, 84).
In the Forever 49 division, Kim Keyer-Scott claimed her second Ladies Invitational win with a total of 301 strokes (76, 74, 77, 74). This was her second win in three years having won what was formally known as the Harder Hall Ladies Invitational in 2021. She took home the trophy and the $150 prize.
Terrill Samuel came in a close second with 303 (76, 78, 72, 77) and Martha Leach finished in third when she fired a 304 (75, 79, 76, 74). Marion Reid came in fourth with 317 (85, 80, 77, 75) and Denise Callahan placed fifth after shooting a 318 (82, 78, 76, 82).
Anna Shultz fired a 319 (79, 82, 80, 78); Liz Haines, 324 (87, 82, 73, 82); Beatriz De Arenas, 329 (81, 77, 82, 89); Kathie Westlund, 333 (85, 79, 88, 81); Jewell Malick, 334 (81, 85, 86, 82); Susan DeVoe, 336 (86, 81, 83, 86); Ivy Steinberg, 340 (87, 88, 81, 84); Barbara Pagana, 340 (87, 85, 83, 85); Lora Fioretti, 363 (92, 92, 92, 87) and Karen Smith, 395 (103, 96, 97, 99).
For full results, download the Golf Genius App and where it says GGID, enter CGT2023.
