Sometimes we are faced with circumstances and trials that can test us and push us beyond where we thought we were capable of going. Each time we are tested, in each moment when we believe we have reached the end of our endurance, we find ourselves at a crossroads – we can either revert into our shells or go forward and become stronger as an individual or as a group. The Magnificent 8 women’s golf team is a shining example of what it means to face the impossible head on, find spirit in the face of adversity, and come back even stronger than before.
During the Oct. 27-28 weekend, at Daytona Beach at LPGA International, these magnificent ladies competed for the Executive Women’s Golf Association Cup (EWGA).
Over the course of two grueling days, with two women on the team staying on the course on Friday night until 8 p.m. (an hour after sundown!), the team managed to win 11 of their 12 matches.
The road to the EWGA Cup has not been an easy one for this team of incredible women, which includes captain Susan Macina, Heidi Bedell, Diane Harris, Lori Lepow, Gilda Perez, Victoria Goitz, Linda Burns and Tamara Boardwine. The women on this team have faced incredible trials and difficulties.
In September 2016, Perez was about three weeks into her cancer treatments and was really starting to feel the effects of chemotherapy and radiation. During the tournament last year, she ended up in the hospital. “All she could talk about was how terrible she felt and how she just ‘wanted to play golf,’ ” Macina said. “One of the things I said to her to encourage her to keep going through the treatments was to tell her that in 2017 we would once again have a team and would play in the EWGA Cup again.” By December 2016, Perez was back on her feet again and swinging the club once more, regaining her strength, even though she needed more radiation on her brain because of her incredibly aggressive cancer.
In January, the team participated in a tournament in Tampa the same week that Perez began the radiation treatment on her brain. Macina went to Perez and told her that she was going to begin formulating a team for the the EWGA Cup and started gathering members from the old group and a couple of new women for the team, and from there the Magnificent 8 was born.
Just a month later, a team member broke her wrist, making it impossible for her to swing a golf club again until mid-May, and in August, another team member suffered an injury to her knee. This was just six weeks before the regional tournament in Port St. Lucie, yet the rest of the team continued to practice and make trips down to PSL to learn the courses and get ready for the tournament.
After this, Hurricane Irma struck Florida, postponing the tournament further, only adding to the ordeals the team had already been through.
“Five days before our tournament, one of my player’s mothers had a heart attack and was diagnosed with cancer. Due to her mother’s illness, she was not able to compete in the regional tournament with us. Since it was only five days before the tournament, we were unable to get a sub to play for her, so we had to play as a team of seven,” said Macina.
Even after everything the team had been through, they ended up coming in fifth place out of 24 teams competing in the region and were able to advance to finals. Eventually, they defeated 50 other teams at the finals to bring home the championship and the EWGA Cup. “We were able to survive cancer, bone breaks, family emergencies and even Hurricane Irma to win this tournament. Our eight ladies beat 50 other teams at finals and brought home the trophy,” Macina said. Magnificent 8 is the current national champion of the EWGA Cup.
The team has earned the honors of advancing to next year’s EWGA Cup Finals as a result of winning this year. Next year’s tournament will be played at Horseshoe Bay Resort outside Austin, Texas, from Nov. 2-3.
“We are excited beyond words and can’t wait to play again. We won’t compete as a team again until then, but we play together almost every weekend, either with an EWGA event or just as friends playing golf,” Macina cited.
“I truly believed in my friends. I know we are fighters and nobody would give up – no matter what we faced on the course.”
This team of women is truly inspirational and inspiring, showing us all that with the right amount of dedication, compassion and strength, you can come back from any obstacle or difficulty that life “drives” your way.