Sutphens celebrate dual titles

When Dianna Sutphen finished her round Sunday at the Jacksonville City Tournament, her first priority was to find out how her husband, Chip Sutphen, had done in the men’s net division.

And when Chip Sutphen returned to the clubhouse after his round, the former JCT champ went straight for the women’s leaderboard. He too wanted to see how his spouse did in her final round.

Turned out, both Sutphens did pretty well.

Both Chip and Dianna Sutphen claimed JCT titles Sunday, Chip in the men’s net division and Dianna in the women’s gross. It was Chip’s second JCT title and Dianna’s first.

“I was more concerned about her. She’s so interested in the game and I just play it for fun,” Chip said. “She plays a lot of golf, and she deserves it because she works really hard at it, and I’m really proud of her.”

Both Sutphens said they’d rather see the other win if they both couldn’t.

“I always root for him, but he said to me that he has won before and I have never won, so he said he’d rather see me win,” Dianna said. “So it’s just kind of great that we both got to experience it.”

Neither Sutphen was a shoo-in to win on Sunday.

Chip was in second place entering Friday’s round, and was one of 10 players within seven strokes of the lead. Dianna Sutphen was three strokes behind Paige Loughary entering the final round.

“You need to have fun, you need some talent, and you need a lot of luck in golf, and we had it, so it was really cool,” Dianna said.

Shortly after the couple learned they had each won a title, the celebration planning began. Friends were invited and beverages were purchased for a gathering on the Sutphens’ back porch.

“I think we’ll go home and sit on the patio and have some Budweiser products,” Chip said, smiling.

With a husband and wife each claiming a JCT title, the Sutphens may now be the first family of Jacksonville golf.

“That’s kind of neat, isn’t it?” Chip said. “Now we’re like the Cisnes.”