Pod Points Play(TM) format created drama and upsets and rewarded steady play
(Saint Augustine, FL) – The second of two 27-hole pool play days of the 2021 PXG Women’s Match Play Championship wrapped up today, working as intended with only six of the 16 groups having their top seed advance to tomorrow’s knock out rounds and the final pod coming down to the last putt of the day with Erika Neger (Oviedo, FL/Stetson) advancing by a half point to take the 16th spot in the Sweet 16. She’ll try to stare down the number one overall seed, Jessica Porvasnick.
Porvasnik (Hickley, OH/Ohio State), coming off a victory in the stroke play portion of the PXG Women’s Match Play Championship, put together one of the more dominant performances of the Pod Play format. Out of the 36 holes Porvasnik played, she only lost a full point on four of them. Porvasnik collected 28 out of her total 40 points available and won her pod by more than 10 points, the largest victory in any pod.
Local Catherine O’Donnell (Ponte Vedra Beach, FL/UNC Charlotte) won the closest pod of the whole tournament. The pod was only separated by .5 points, or halving a hole. O’Donnell would win her last hole of the 54 holes played to secure her spot by beating Addie Baggerly (Thompson’s Station, TN/Baylor). O’Donnell, a Symetra Tour regular, and Nease High School grad, will be a player to watch heading into match play.
In this never-before tried format, the 64 players, seeded in this case from last week’s 54-hole stroke play tournament, were separated into 16 “Pods” of four players. They play nine hole matches against each other twice in a round robin format. Players contest all nine holes in each head-to-head match, which can be won, lost or halved. The winner of each match also receive one bonus point. With 27 holes played by each player during each of the two days, there were 60 total points available (30 each day). The player with the most points in her Pod advances to the Sweet 16 knock out rounds.
The Sweet 16 and Quarter Finals begin on Wednesday, November 3 at 8:30 AM with a traditional 18-hole match play format. The Semifinals and Finals will be held on November 4 beginning at 8:30 AM. The Final match will begin at approximately 1:00 PM. There will be an awards program recognizing the Champion immediately after play on November 4 at the 18th green complex on the Slammer & Squire Course at World Golf Village.
The PXG Women’s Match Play Championship is free to the public and we would love to see you for the final round. Find the free tickets at https://womensmatchplaychampionship.com
Caption: Catherine O’Donnell (right) and Addie Baggerly still have energy to smile after 54 holes of Pod Points Play battle at the PXG Women’s Match Play Championship. Baggerly, a recent University of Florida graduation and readying for her fifth college season, this spring at Baylor, held off O’Donnell, a Symetra Tour veteran to the last putt, and by just one-half point, earning herself spot in the Sweet 16.