Late arrival to sport, Schlesinger making up for lost time on the links
Last week at Congressional Blue, Lisa Schlesinger won her third Women’s District of Columbia Golf Association title, an impressive feat considering it took her more than three decades to warm up to the sport.
Growing up in Kensington with family privileges at Norbeck Country Club, Schlesinger had the access, but neither the interest nor temperament. She was too enamored of action sports, which she played quite well.
The Athlete of the Year at Walter Johnson High in 1975, Schlesinger went on to play basketball at Maryland, and two professional seasons in the Women’s Basketball League. When the league folded, she turned to pro softball, playing for the Washington Metros for 15 years. In 1985, she also found time to win a National Amateur Weightlifting Championship (bench press) in the 135-pound class.
Then her late 30s, with her athletic and competitive fires still stoked and no more games to play, Schlesinger turned to golf. And she loved it.
“I had always been a team sports person,” said Schlesinger. “But I needed something competitive. I needed something to do in the summertime.”
Within a few years, Schlesinger was among the top women’s players in the Washington area. This year, at age 50, Schlesinger is at the top of her game.
In May, she won the inaugural Maryland Mid-Amateur (for players 25 and older), shooting a 2-under-par 70. Earlier this month, Schlesinger was the medalist in a local U.S. Mid-Am Qualifier. When she won the WDCGA event last week, she defeated three-time defending champion Shelley Savage in the finals, 2 and 1.
The highlight of Schlesinger’s career, however, came in 2005 when she won the Chrysler Club National Championship, a tournament that included club champions nationwide. For winning Schelsinger earned a berth in the 2006 Bob Hope Chrysler Pro-Am, a PGA Tour event.
“I’m on the range and I look to my right and there’s Fred Funk. I look to my left and there’s Davis Love,” said Schlesinger. “That was the ultimate — the highlight of my athletic career.”
And that’s saying a lot.
Swing 4 Schlesinger
» Schlesinger helped create the Swing 4 Schlesinger benefit, a golf tournament for her brother, David, who was paralyzed after suffering a ruptured disc last November.
» The inaugural event, played Aug. 4 at Norbeck, drew 110 players and raised more than $66,000 for Schlesinger’s recovery and support for his family.
» “In my wildest dreams, I never thought we could raise that much,” said Lisa Schlesinger. “I would have been thrilled with half that.”
