WMGA Honor Roll

In 1919, twenty years after the formation of the WMGA, this competition among our three districts: New Jersey, Westchester/CT & Long Island was first held.  In 1921, Golf Illustrated donated a trophy for the winning team, and in so doing, gave the competition its name. The 1810 trophy, a Thomas Blagdon & Co. breadbasket from Sheffield, England, is one of our favorites.  Since 1925, the teams have been composed of 10 players with one alternate. Play is contested in a three-way match play format using a Nassau scoring system. Captains are selected by the Competitions committee; they serve for three years and select their players from within their district with handicap indexes of 14.0 or less.  The matches are friendly rivalry with everyone enjoying the competition and ensuing bragging rights. 

Named after a former WMGA President, the Myra D. Paterson competition is an interdistrict match between New Jersey, Westchester/CT,  & Long Island. Originated in 1925, it was essentially the same as the Golf Illustrated event except that it was contested in the fall as opposed to the spring.  In 1971, the pool of players was changed to Class B handicaps [14.1 and above]. Play is contested in a three-way match play format using a Nassau scoring system with 10 players per team and one alternate.  Captains are selected by the Competitions committee; they serve for three years and select their players from within their district with handicap indexes above 14.0. It’s exciting to be invited to participate; while competitive, the camaraderie is terrific and enjoyed by all.  

The Inter-City Matches for the Griscom Cup is one of the oldest sporting trophies for women in North America and dates back to 1898.  It contests some of the very best female amateur golfers in the northeast portion of the country. Originally called the Challenge Cup, the competition was held between the New York based WMGA and its sister organization, the Women’s Golf Association of Philadelphia (WGAP).    The first-ever competition’s final match contested Miss Genevieve Hecker (WMGA) and Miss Frances Griscom (WGAP), the reigning US Women’s Amateur Champion. This match made headlines as the “best match of the day” in an article in the December 1900 Harper’s magazine.  While Miss Hecker and the WMGA prevailed, it was Miss Griscom’s father Clement A. Griscom who donated the trophy.  As such, the Challenge Cup was later renamed the Griscom Cup. In 1902, the Boston based women’s organization now called Mass Golf petitioned to join the competition.   The event’s hosting site rotates annually between Massachusetts, Philadelphia and the NY Metropolitan area. Over the course of time, the format, scoring and number of players have been modified.   Today, each team is comprised of 9 players with play taking place over 2 days under a Nassau scoring system. Day One includes a practice round in the morning and then five 3-way alternate-shot matches in the afternoon.  Day Two has nine 3-way singles matches followed by awards. 

The first Junior Intercity match took place between the WMGA and the Women’s Golf Association of Philadelphia [WGAP] in 1934 thanks to incredible efforts of Junior Girls chairman, Mrs. Robert Ackerman.   Mrs. Frank Enos, the “mother” of WMGA junior golf, donated the trophy, which bears her name for the competition. In 1955, Boston [WGAM][now Mass Golf] fielded a team and the three-city rotation commenced.  Each team is comprised of 5 players, 18 years of age and younger. Play is contested in a three-way match play format using a Nassau scoring system. Today, the Enos Cup is considered a revered event as it brings some of the very best in junior girl’s golf together “to meet, compete, win and lose gracefully.”

Awarded to the player with the lowest gross score in a Class A tournament.

Awarded to the player with the lowest gross score in a Class B tournament.

Named after the first female President of the USGA, was established by the WMGA in 1998 to “recognize significant contributions to the game of golf for women and/or juniors in the Metropolitan area.”