PGA of America president Richerson will serve as captain for U.S. team
FRISCO, Texas — PGA Professionals Joanna Coe and Ashley Grier return to anchor a United States Team looking to defend the Cup at the 2022 Women’s PGA Cup. The premier international competition for women PGA Club Professionals will be held at Twin Warriors Golf Club at Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico, Oct. 24-29.
The U.S. Team was determined following a point system that concluded with the 2022 LPGA Professionals National Championship in Williamsburg, Virginia. Earning team berths were:
- Sherry Andonian, LaQuinta, California
- Jennifer Borocz, Ponte Vedra, Florida
- Joanna Coe, Lutherville-Timonium, Maryland
- Stephanie Connelly-Eiswerth, Jacksonville, Florida
- Ashley Grier, Springfield, Pennsylvania
Currently there are representatives from five PGA Associations that will be part of the field: Australia, Canada, Great Britain & Ireland, Sweden and the United States. The Women’s PGA Cup is conducted as a 54-hole, stroke-play event, with each team’s lowest three scores counted after each round. The winning country will be the team with the lowest 54-hole aggregate total.
The U.S. team won the inaugural Women’s PGA Cup by four shots in October 2019 at the Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa/Foothills Course in Austin, Texas.
PGA of America President Jim Richerson will captain the U.S. Team. Richerson, a PGA Member, is General Manager of The Riviera Country Club & The Riviera Tennis Club in Pacific Palisades, California. Elected President at the 104th PGA Annual Meeting in 2020, he is the first Wisconsin PGA Member to hold a National Office.
“The opportunity to captain our U.S. Women’s PGA Cup team will be one of the highlights of my career,” said Richerson. “This talented team of PGA Professionals representing their respective PGA Sections and home facilities get to take part in a international showcase of their peers and defend the Cup. I’m looking forward to being at the forefront as we continue momentum in growing women’s professional golf.”
Coe and Grier are the two veterans returning from that inaugural championship team. Coe is the Director of Instruction at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania: She is among the first women to hold the position of head professional or director of instruction at one of the nation’s top 10 private golf facilities. Grier is an LPGA/PGA Professional and a PGA Assistant Professional at Yingling’s Golf Center in Hagerstown, Maryland: She earned the Women’s PGA Professional Player of the Year honors in 2020 and has played in four PGA Professional Championships—2016, ’19, ’21 and ’22.
Andonian is a LPGA/PGA Teaching Professional who teaches at Valley Country Club in Centennial, Colorado, in the summer and Mountain View Country Club in La Quinta, California, in the winter. In 2019, she became the first woman in PGA of America history to compete in both national member championships— the PGA Professional Championship and Senior PGA Professional Championship.
Borocz is the PGA Chapter Coordinator/Senior Manager, Membership & Finance for the North Florida PGA Section. She competed in the PGA Professional Championship for the first time in 2022 in Austin, Texas. She was formerly the Head Women’s Golf Coach at Jacksonville University.
Connelly Eiswerth is a dual PGA/LPGA Teaching Professional. She played professionally on the Epson Tour from 2009-2016 (six top-10 finishes) after playing collegiate golf at the University of Central Florida (UCF), and was named 2021 North Florida PGA Section/Northern Chapter PGA Professional of the Year.
Each national team in the Women’s PGA Cup will compose five players and one Captain, who may be a playing captain at the option of the respective country.
The Women’s PGA Cup is not played for prize money. Rather, each team will vie for the honor of winning the Cup and bask in the pride that comes with representing one’s country in a distinct and unique international competition.Those eligible to represent their country in the Women’s PGA Cup must be Members in good standing with their respective Professional Golfers Association (PGA). They must also be active in the game, be it as a teacher, coach or working as Club Professional/Assistant.
