Erica Chappell is currently playing some of her best golf. She’s hitting the ball well off the tee. Her approach shots seem to be solid and she might be reading greens maybe the best she ever has.
That momentum is going to come in handy for Chappell as she prepares to battle a talented field later this month at the State Women’s Open, July 23-25, at Stonehenge Golf Course in Crossville.
“I always look forward to competing in Crossville,” Chappell said. “My love of competition golf happened when I was around 50 and I watched the USGA Women’s Senior Amateur event near my home in Nashville.
“Back then, the Women’s State Open in Crossville was such a big community event that everyone wanted to play. The support of the fans, the big players’ dinner they always held. It is fun to go there.”
The Women’s Open is not the only event on Chappell’s annual golf schedule. It is hectic. She competes in just about every contest she can get to in the state, but she also travels to compete outside Tennessee.
“I have done some of the national senior tournaments,” Chappell said. “I have done a lot of the North and South Tournaments. I have played in the Southern Women’s Golf Association Championship for a couple of years.
“I have also played in the Ladies National Championship and several amateur golf alliance tournaments.”
She also just won the Women’s Match Play Senior Championship with a 2-and-1 victory over Rhonda Switzer-Nadasdi. In Crossville, she won the 2023 Senior Division title of the Women’s Open.
Chappell said one of the things that draws her to the Crossville event each year is the challenge the tournament presents. Not only does the Women’s Open draw a large field of good competitors, but the course can also be frustrating.
“When I come to play Stonehenge, I think the thing that always sticks in my mind is the grass around the greens is so different than any place else that I’ve ever played,” Chappell said. “So just the chipping gives me fits there.
“Certainly the greens are challenging. Some of them have so much slope to them. It helps to have played there and have an idea about where you need to be below the hole because you’re just going to be dead if you’re up above it.”
Chappell also said the 6,549-yard, par 72 golf course offers certain holes where golfers will gladly take a par and move on to the next tee.
“I think No. 15 [501-yard, par 5] is a challenging hole,” Chappell said. “If you get a par there, you’re pretty happy. You know, the drive isn’t too bad, but that next shot up the middle, and with it going uphill, that’s tough. You have to cover water on your next shot, and if you’ve pulled the shot, you’re going to have to come out of the rough.
“That green also has a lot of undulation, with two tiers, so you definitely want to be on the right level. Coming out of this hole with a par definitely feels like a win.”
She said the tee shot off of No. 10 is also challenging for long drivers, which she is one.
She said an errant shot will put you in the woods, close to homes in the subdivision, and out of bounds.
And that could prove costly. Chappell said golfers need to stay in contention throughout the multi-day event.
“I think you can definitely make up some ground on this course. With the senior women’s division, probably, a couple shots over par is going to be right in the hunt,” she said.
“But it’s certainly possible that somebody could come out and shoot a 75, but the next day they may well shoot 78 or 80, and stuff jumps up and bites them. You need to manage your way around the course.”
Fans attending the Women’s Open should see some great golf. Some of the competitors in the Championship Division are expected to include: Tillie Claggett, the 2025 Canadian Women’s Champion; Isabella Coughlin, the two-time Tennessee Member Champion; and Bella Bugg, the 2024 State Women’s Amateur Champion.
Besides Chappell, some of the top competitors in the Senior Division of the tournament will include: Barb Moxness, a 10-year LPGA veteran; Kate Golden, an 18-year member of the LPGA; and Paula Pearson-Tucker, who has played in Crossville each year of the tournament.
After the Women’s Open, Chappell said she will be competing in the Tennessee Four-Ball Championship, the Tennessee Senior Championship, and in a U.S. Senior Amateur qualifier in Illinois.