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A
Holiday with Family |
Lendl
sisters battle on Thanksgiving at the Polo Golf Junior Classic |
By
John Egnot
Manager of Media Relations
Year in and year out, Thanksgiving is a time to gather with
family and friends to celebrate and give thanks for everything
that has occurred during the past year. The age-old tradition
of going over the river and through the woods to grandma’s
house to stuff oneself full of turkey, gravy and all the other
fixins is one that we can all truly be thankful for.
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| Lendl
sisters Marika (left) and Isabelle (right) prepare for
their quarterfinal match on the No. 1 tee at the Seaside
Course. |
In
most families, competition usually isn’t at the top of
the turkey day to-do list. Sure, some will indulge in the tradition
of a backyard flag football game pitting the hopeless underdog
middle-aged in-laws against the rocket arm of grandpa and his
four college-age grandkids. For others, finding a comfy spot
on the couch and falling asleep while watching a football game
is a tradition all in itself.
Rarely do you see a couple of family members wake up at the
break of dawn on Thanksgiving Day only to wind up facing off
against each other at the highest level of competition.
Not two sisters.
Not on Thanksgiving.
But then again, competition runs through the Lendl family like
gravy all over your Thanksgiving turkey.
On this morning, Bradenton, Fla., natives Marika and Isabelle
Lendl took to the Seaside Course at Sea Island Golf Club in
Sea Island, Ga., for a much-anticipated quarterfinal match at
the Polo Golf Junior Classic.
This sibling showdown pitted two very accomplished AJGA members
against each other. An honorable mention Rolex Junior All-American,
elder sister Marika, 15, had been in this very position one
year ago. After a phenomenal run through the match play portion
of the Polo Golf Junior Classic, Marika fell just short of the
title, losing to Morgan Pressel in the championship match. She
followed that up with an appearance on the 2005 Canon Cup East
Team and an impressive run through stroke play qualifying at
the 2005 Polo Golf Junior Classic to earn the No. 16 seed during
match play.
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| Marika
advanced to the championship match at the 2004 Polo Golf
Junior Classic. |
Isabelle, 14, had a breakout season in 2005, earning second-team
Rolex Junior All-American honors on the heels of her first AJGA
win at the Greater Hartford Jaycees Junior presented by St.
Paul Travelers. Prior to the Polo Golf Junior Classic, she had
finished sixth or better at all five AJGA events she competed
in during 2005.
If you think you heard the name Lendl before, you’re probably
right. Marika and Isabelle’s father, Ivan, is a 2001 inductee
into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, and is generally
regarded as one of the greatest players who ever picked up a
racket.
Second all-time with 94 singles victories, eight Grand Slam
titles, a Grand Slam finalist 11 more times, ranked No. 1 in
the world for 157 straight weeks and tennis’ all-time
leading money winner when he retired, Ivan was simply a nervous
spectator watching proudly as his daughters went head-to-head
with a birth in the semifinals on the line.
“I don’t mind that they’re playing each other,”
Ivan said of the matchup. “It’s just part of the
way it goes. It was bound to happen sooner or later.”
After
all, the Lendl sisters have been competing with or against each
other for the better part of a decade. Originally from Goshen,
Conn., Isabelle and Marika began playing golf at age nine and
11 respectively and are currently students at the David Leadbetter
Academy in Bradenton.
“We have exactly the same practice schedule, along with
players like Arnond Vongvanij, Peter Uihlein and Kristina Wong,”
Isabelle said shortly after her second-round victory.
Less than two weeks earlier, the two were paired together in
the final group at the FCWT Junior Golf Tour’s World Woods
Junior Golf Classic. Both would fall just short of a title with
Marika finishing second and Isabelle third, but it was definitely
an unforeseen sign of things to come.
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| Marika
went to the turn with a 3-up lead, but Isabelle battled
back and won four straight holes to grasp the momentum. |
Now, the two were about to go head-to-head at one of the AJGA’s
most prestigious events. Marika, with the experience gained
from a near miss in 2004 and Isabelle, seeking a second AJGA
victory, were about to partake in a small family feud on Thanksgiving.
When
asked in tournament headquarters in the morning about two things
she was thankful for, Marika jokingly said, “Winning yesterday
and beating my sister today.”
In the early going, it looked as if Marika’s bold prediction
was going to pan out. After going 1-down after the first hole,
the elder Lendl went on a run, winning four out of six holes
to take a 3-up lead to the turn. However, Isabelle went on a
run of her own on the Seaside Course’s back nine, winning
four consecutive holes to finally reclaim a 1-up lead on No.
14.
In true sisterly fashion, a rattled Marika would not back down.
After leaving her third shot buried inches behind the lip of
a greenside bunker on the par-5 No. 15, the 15-year-old “veteran”
cleared her head and blasted a magnificent shot out of the bunker
to within a foot of the hole to save par. Isabelle ended up
making bogey, and the sisters from Florida were all square with
three holes to play.
At this point, it seemed as if neither player would be satisfied
with losing. Ivan, who followed his daughters shot-for-shot
during the match, was torn as any father would be.
“This guarantees that at least one of them will win,”
he joked. “It all works out in the end.”
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| Isabelle
would claim a 1-up lead on No. 17 and advance to the semifinals
after halving the 18th. |
It
turned out that the end of the match would come soon. On the
par-3 No. 17, Marika missed the green to the right and was stuck
behind a tree. After hitting a phenomenal shot to about six
feet from the cup, she failed to sink the par putt. Isabelle,
who hit the green with her tee shot, two-putted to take a 1-up
lead to the final hole.
On the 18th, both players hit the green in regulation, and Isabelle
would hold on for a 1-up victory and a trip to the semifinals.
The two, in true sisterly fashion, exchanged a brief hug before
heading inside for lunch, where Isabelle would prepare for yet
another match in the afternoon.
Meanwhile, a proud father and no stranger to the elation of
victory and the frustration of defeat, Ivan prepared for another
round on the golf course with the hopes of seeing Isabelle advance
to the championship match, much like her older sister in 2004.
“It didn’t really matter which way the match went,
I just feel good for Isabelle and bad for Marika,” Ivan
said. “That’s just the way it happened.”
It seems hard to believe that these two emerging stars won’t
cross paths in direct competition on the golf course again,
most likely at some point in the near-future. But, at least
for now, Marika and Isabelle will continue practicing, playing
and reminiscing about their unique Thanksgiving experience. |
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