'I think it will get bigger': Northern Michigan Women's Open a major golf hit in debut

CHEBOYGAN – Tara Vancil has always been a relentless competitor.

A former three-sport athlete at Cheboygan High School, Vancil’s drive to succeed was on full display when she was the only female to participate in last year’s Northern Michigan Open .

As someone who likes a challenge, she had an idea and let the Cheboygan Golf & Country Club know about it.

“I asked them, ‘Hey, what would it take to get a women’s division in the Northern Michigan Open?’ and they said, ‘Well, we can’t really do that because the tournament is already full, and it takes up the whole day, so why don’t you start your own tournament?’ and I said, ‘OK, let’s do it,’” Vancil said. “They gave us a date and we started trying to get people signed up.”

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Fast forward to Sunday, the final round of the first-ever Northern Michigan Women’s Open, and Vancil couldn’t take a smile off her face as she made the turn to the back nine. She got what she had hoped for – an opportunity for herself and women around the area to take part in a competitive golf event.

“There’s a lot of talented women golfers in this region, there’s a lot of different ladies’ leagues just in Cheboygan County alone, so I’m excited to see this tournament grow over the years as word of mouth gets out, and to give amateur women golfers an opportunity to challenge themselves and grow their golf games,” Vancil said.

Among those talented golfers playing included recent Cheboygan graduate Katie Maybank, who earned first place in the open division, and Theresa Schultz, who won the title in the senior division. Vancil didn’t do too bad herself, finishing in the top half of the open division.

While the weather was a challenge, the ladies present enjoyed being in a competitive environment.

“It was fun – both days,” Cheboygan’s Candi Gildner said. “We went from rain and all that to cold, but it was a great thing. It’s great they got this for the women. They put a lot of work into it. I’m all for it because we have competitive people. If there’s anything like that, yes, I’m going to go out for it. I don’t expect to win, but it’s fun.”

In total, 28 players competed over the weekend, with 14 in the open division and 14 in the senior division.

“Tournament golf is a special thing,” Vancil said. “It forces you to focus on your game and focus on yourself, and we all get to show up next year, after a year of practice, working on whatever parts of our game we want to improve."

Before she made her way to the 10 ^th hole on Sunday, Vancil praised those who helped make it all possible.

“I just want to thank the Cheboygan Golf & Country Club, the board and the staff for being willing to host this tournament, and all the work that the grounds crew did and Olwyn (Hancock), managing the course and for helping to make this happen,” Vancil said. “I really appreciate their support.”

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With the event being a hit in year one, those involved believe it can grow into something more special.

“I think it will get bigger – we just have to work on it,” Gildner said. “For the first year, this worked out great. It’s a good start and I think it’ll grow once we get more people from around the area and south and north and east.”

Contact sports editor Jared Greenleaf at jgreenleaf@gannett.com . Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @sportsCDT

This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: 'I think it will get bigger': Northern Michigan Women's Open a major golf hit in debut