For scores from the girls 5A state tournament, CLICK HERE.
For scores from the girls 4A state tournament, CLICK HERE.
On yet another day when the sun was nowhere to be found, SeungHa Choi finally removed herself from the considerable shadow cast by her Overland High School teammate, Somin Lee.
Choi, who has watched Lee become a dominant player in the state girls golf ranks over the last few years, beat Lee — and every other competitor in the Class 5A state high school tournament — on Tuesday to score the biggest victory of her young career.
Lee, winner of three CWGA junior championships in 2008 and 2009, was the defending state high school champion, and looking for one last junior victory before heading off to play for Pepperdine. But though an Overland golfer won on Tuesday at Lone Tree Golf Club, it wasn’t the one everyone expected.
Choi overcame cold conditions and a four-stroke deficit to post a two-shot victory over Patricia Lee of Highlands Ranch, and Calli Ringsby and Shinwoo Lee of Cherry Creek. Choi, a junior, shot a 1-over-par 73 Tuesday for a 7-over 151 total, six strokes better than Somin Lee, who went 77-80 and placed sixth.
“I can’t believe it,” the soft-spoken Choi said. “I think it’s like I’m living a dream right now because there are so many good players. I didn’t think about (possibly becoming the champion) because it’s too hard to win this tournament. But I’m so happy.”
Choi birdied three of her first five holes on Tuesday, then let her closest competition falter. All three players who finished in second place posted double bogeys or worse twice on Tuesday. The result was that Patricia Lee was runner-up for the second straight year, while Shinwoo Lee went third and second the last two seasons.
Choi, meanwhile, has gone from 11th as a freshman to fifth as a sophomore to champion as a junior.
“I think I’m getting better,” she said with a sly smile.
Choi, who was born in Korea and moved to the U.S. about seven years ago, always had played second fiddle to Somin Lee, very seldom beating her “friendly rival.” Choi’s biggest golf accomplishment before Tuesday was qualifying for last year’s U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship.
On Tuesday, Choi said she was “really relaxed. I wasn’t thinking about my score, so I wasn’t nervous that much.” That is, until photographers and a fair number of spectators started following her down the stretch. At one point, behind the 17th green, Choi closed her eyes for an extended period, trying to focus only on the task at hand.
“I was so nervous; I didn’t want to three-putt,” she said.
Despite making three bogeys on her final six holes, Choi had enough of a cushion to earn the title.
Meanwhile, in the team competition, Cherry Creek won its eighth state championship, the most in Colorado girls golf history. Arapahoe, the 2010 winner, was second, 14 strokes back.
Besides Shinwoo Lee and Ringsby, the state championship team (pictured at left) included Dani Urman and Mackenzie Cohen. Urman, who battled bone cancer for eight months last year before being declared cancer-free in September, had her scores (90-79) count both days toward the team total. The 79 on Tuesday — which included two birdies — matched Urman’s best score of the year and helped her finish 16th individually.
“I’m so happy; I played really well today,” she said. “It all came together finally.”
And the team title was the perfect cap for a special season.
“It’s awesome,” Urman said. “We’ve been working all year for this, so it’s great.”
McGetrick Wins 4A Crown Going Away: Valor Christian senior Lindsay McGetrick never looked back Tuesday in cruising to a nine-stroke victory in the 4A state tournament at Elmwood Golf Course in Pueblo.
The North Carolina State signee, winner of the 2010 CWGA Junior Match Play, shot a 1-under-par 70 on Tuesday to finish at 5-under 137 overall. Bryce Schroeder of Pueblo South (75-146) was the only player within 13 shots of McGetrick.
Pueblo South (483) edged Broomfield (485) for the 4A team title.
