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Meet Florida's USGA State Team

September 2, 2015

Three talented women will represent Florida at the 2015 US Women's State Team Championship next week at Dalhousie Golf Club in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.  The biennial Championship will be conducted over 54 holes of stroke play with two of the best three scores counting daily on September 10-12.  Tara Connelly, Meghan Stasi and Kendall Griffin hope to help Florida bring home another Championship title. Florida last won in 1999 and finished second by three strokes in 2013.

Tara Joy-Connelly, Palm Beach Gardens

Back for vengeance, Tara Joy-Connelly, a member of the second place 2013 US Women's State Team, is fired up and ready to bring home the gold at this year's US Women's State Team. Joy-Connelly has had an impressive and productive 2015 season, collecting hardware in two of Florida's top Women's Championships; the Women's Amateur Stroke Play and the Women's Mid-Amateur. After finishing second both in 2013 and 2014 at the Florida Stroke Play, taking home the title this year was priceless. With partner, and teammate, Meghan Stasi by her side, the duo also captured back-to-back titles in 2013 and 2014 at the Women's International Four-Ball. Other accomplishments for Tara include semi-finalist finishes at the 2011 and 2014 US Women's Mid-Amateur Championship and quarter-finalist at the 2013 Ione D. Jones/Doherty Women's Amateur Championship. The 2015 US State Team will be her 24th USGA appearance and 9th State Team appearance.

Meghan Stasi, Oakland Park

Five-time Florida Player of the Year, veteran Meghan Stasi makes her fourth consecutive appearance on the US Women's State Team. No stranger to USGA championships, as this will be her 28th championship attendance, Stasi captured the US Women's Mid-Amateur title four times in 2006, 2007, 2010 and 2012. In 2014 Stasi made it to the semi-finals before falling to the eventual Champion. Meghan also had the high honors of being a part of the 2008 USA Curtis Cup Team and was one of four national Champions selected by the USGA to compete in the South American Amateur Championship in Peru this past year. 2014 also was a year of wins for Meghan, capturing the title at the Florida Women's Mid-Amateur (which she also won in 2013), International Four-Ball with partner Joy-Connelly, and the Harder Hall Invitational.

Kendall Griffin, Sebring

New to the USGA circuit, Kendall Griffin is ecstatic to be the third member to round out the 2015 US Women's State Team. Griffin's first USGA Championship attendance just recently passed and she did it in style. Along with partner Athena Yang, Griffin not only won medalist honors at their qualifying site, but they then went on to the Championship and made their mark in USGA history by earning medalist honors at the inaugural US Women's Amateur Four-Ball Championship. Griffin then made her second career USGA appearance two months later when she qualified for the US Girls' Junior Amateur Championship making it to the match play portion of the event. Now as she prepares for the State Team this will make three USGA appearances in five months for her. Kendall will be attending Louisiana State University in 2017 as a member of their Women's Golf team. Until then, she continues to build her golf resume. At just 16 years of age, Griffin currently holds 14 top-five Florida Junior Tour finishes, 2014 AJGA Evitt Foundation Junior All Star title along with the title of 2013 Florida Girls' Junior Amateur Champion.

The Championship is open to players from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. State associations may use any criteria of their choosing in selecting their teams, which comprise three amateur, non-college golfers. The Championship format consists of the best two scores of each state’s three players over the course of three days and 54 holes.

The course at Dalhousie Golf Club, which opened in 2002, was designed by Nicklaus Design, with Gary Nicklaus as the principal architect. The course was originally settled in 1798 by Scottish immigrant, Rebecca Ramsey, sister of the Earl of Dalhousie. This will be the 19th USGA championship conducted in the state of Missouri, dating to the 1921 U.S. Amateur at St. Louis Country Club. Dalhousie Golf Club also hosted the 2012 Missouri State Amateur Championship as well as the 2009 AJGA Rolex Tournament of Champions. Be sure to check out live scoring at www.USGA.org once the Championship begins.

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