BLUFFTON — It was more than a prediction. Joan and Jessie Whittaker knew a mother-daughter match-up in the Lima Women’s Area Match Play golf tournament was going to be inevitable someday.
That match-up will arrive this afternoon when long-time city tournament competitor Joan Whittaker and her daughter play in a semifinal in the first flight at Country Acres Golf Club.
Jessie Whittaker defeated Charlotte Schaub 2-and-1 on Friday at Bluffton Golf Club to reach the semifinals. Joan Whittaker had a bye into the semifinals after being the low qualifier in the first flight.
“I told her when we came into this, sooner or later it was going to happen,” Joan Whittaker said. “I told her this year. We’ll see, it will be fun.”
Jessie Whittaker said, “We’ve always kind of always known it would happen. My first year of playing in this tournament was 2012. Last year we thought we might get a chance to run into each other in the first flight. We kind of knew it was inevitable and knew that if that opportunity ever arose, we’d have fun with it.”
The younger Whittaker remembers playing in Lima Junior Golf Association tournaments when she was younger, but concentrated on volleyball, swimming and basketball at Lima Central Catholic, where she graduated in 2004.
That made her the exception in her family, with her mom, her dad John and her brother Joe, a two-time city champion, all spending a lot of time at the golf course.
“Joe wanted to play as soon as he could talk. She would be like, ‘Oh, you’re making me, ’ ” Joan Whittaker said. “I was like, ‘We’re not making you but you’re not staying home by yourself.’ ”
It wasn’t until after high school that Jessie Whittaker got into competitive golf.
“I didn’t have the drive or passion for it like Joey and my mom and my dad. It wasn’t until I graduated from high school and wanted to stay competitive in something. At Christmas of my freshman year (at Bowling Green State University) I said, ‘Can you get me some clubs?’,” she said.
Rebekah Rader won 5-and-4 over Carol Mitchell in the only championship flight match on Friday to advance to a semifinal match-up with last year’s runner-up Shelby Warner.
Rader took the lead on the first hole and never surrendered it.
“I’m not going to lie, I was pretty nervous starting out,” said Rader, a junior at the University of Northwestern Ohio about playing former city champion Mitchell, who has played in this tournament since 1969. “But I didn’t hit a bad shot on the first hole and I think she doubled.”
Mitchell said, “I knew with how far she hits the ball I had to get a good start and that didn’t happen. I knew she could birdie about every hole out here. I knew it would be a tough go.”
Rader won the first three holes, was four up after nine holes and shot 35 on the front nine.
“I kind of pushed it on the front nine. I was playing pretty well and I just kept kind of chugging along and winning holes,” she said.
Two other first flight matches and two second flight matches were also played on Friday.
Carol Jackson defeated Debora Hemmert 5-and-3 and Connie Shutt won 4-and-3 over Brenda Schimmoeller in the first flight.
In the second flight, Marilee Bible beat Amy Newland 7-and-4 and Missy Smiley won 5-and-4 over Deb Osburn.
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