Continuing with the announcements of our season-long standout players, Maine Golf is pleased to name Thea Davis as the winner of the 2022 Women’s Player of the Year award. This accolade is given to the player who accrues the most points during the season in Maine Golf events, including championships and Tuesday Play Days. In addition to the regular Player of the Year title, Davis is also being honored as the Senior Player of the Year for the 2022 campaign.
Davis, now 65 and retired, lives in Plymouth and is a member at Hermon Meadow GC. She was a longtime teaching pro and has just recently come back to compete in amateur events. “I chose to teach golf for 25 or so years, so I was away from amateur golf for many years,” says Davis. “This was my first full year back to amateur golf, and my goal at each event was to simply have fun, play the golf course, play golf to the best of my ability for that day, and not try to beat anyone.”
Davis won the majority of her POY points in the regular Play Days held around the state on Tuesdays. She won a total of four Play Days and came in the top three in nearly every event she played in. She also held her own and finished in fourth place at the Maine Women’s Amateur at Portland CC in July, where all three players ahead of her on the leaderboard were at least four decades younger.
“First of all, it was an honor and privilege to play at the Portland Country Club,” she recalls. “I was somewhat anxious but felt I had the talent to compete with most golfers, but felt I might be lacking in the experience it takes to win championships. In a way it felt like I won.”
Talking about the three young players who finished ahead of her at Portland, Davis says that “Bailey (Plourde), Jordan (Laplume) and Ruby (Haylock) are amazing young golfers. Competitive, polite, and respectful — a great combination.”
Davis had two big wins on the state level this summer, though neither awarded points toward the yearlong Player of the Year title. She claimed the title at the Janet Drouin Memorial at Natanis in August, an event that “was the start of my biggest confidence boost of the season.” She later won the Senior Women’s Amateur at Riverside in September to keep the success of the 2022 season moving forward. “I still get teary-eyed and emotional when I think of winning that championship,” Davis admits months after the tournament.
When asked who she would like to thank for her success on the course this year, Davis singled out her husband, who understands the game and was on the bag for some of her biggest events during the season. She also looked to the past and the players before her who helped move the game forward to where it is in Maine right now.
“My greatest thanks go out to all the pioneers of women’s golf in Maine that I was so privileged to play with during my younger competitive years. Names such as Martha White, Pennie Cummings, Helen Plourde, Jane Diplock, Evelyn Grant, Abby Spector, and so many more. Without them as support, role models, and paving the way for women’s golf in Maine, who knows where we’d all be?”
Looking back on the season she is proud of how she played in her return to the amateur game. “I feel I played this year’s events with grace and dignity,” she says. “I am so proud and humbled by my many accomplishments. My trophies from The Janet Drouin Memorial as well as the Women’s Senior Championship are displayed in my living room. I admire them daily.”
There are soon to be two more trophies next to those on her mantle, ones that show Thea Davis as the 2022 Women’s Player of the Year and Senior Women’s Player of the Year.