Sometimes the pursuit of a goal can be just as satisfying as reaching that goal.
At least that’s the approach Aili Bundy of Fort Collins and Lauren Lehigh of Loveland were taking after qualifying Wednesday at Columbine Country Club for the second annual U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship.
Bundy and Lehigh, who will be teammates on the Loveland High School girls golf team in the spring, earned medalist honors — and the lone national qualifying spot available — by shooting an even-par 72 at Columbine. (The medalists are pictured above, with Lehigh at left.)
But a scheduling conflict makes it very possible that Bundy and Lehigh won’t end up competing at the 2016 U.S. Women’s Four-Ball, which is set for May 21-25 in Streamsong, Fla. That’s because the 2016 girls state high school tournaments are scheduled for May 23-24.
So unless Bundy and Lehigh elect to skip the state tournament, fail to qualify for it, or just choose to play in the stroke-play portion (May 21-22) of the Women’s Four-Ball before catching a late-night flight back to Colorado on May 22 — all unlikely scenarios — they won’t be playing in their first USGA championship. If that’s the case, an alternate team — not necessarily one from Colorado — would replace them in the field in Florida.
“We’ll probably end up playing in state even though it’s so exciting that we got to qualify,” said Bundy, a high school junior who qualifed for state as both a freshman and sophomore. “That’s something that we’ve kind of already committed ourselves to. But this is definitely something really special.
“I’m just super excited. We worked together really well today. Honestly I’m just excited that we won for the school season — for the two years together that we will have on the same team.”
Bundy (left), 16, and Lehigh, 14, didn’t realize there was a date conflict until Wednesday, but even if they don’t end up going to Florida, they still took great satisfaction in qualifying Wednesday at Columbine.
After all, though there were only four teams competing in the qualifier after withdrawals, they still beat some formidable competition. That included CWGA Junior Stroke Play champion Mary Weinstein and her Regis Jesuit teammate Jaclyn Murray, the CWGA Junior Match Play runner-up; and Amy Chitkoksoong, winner of the Junior Match Play, and Caroline Jordaan, who was a Colorado Girls Junior Americas Cup teammate of Weinstein’s this past summer.
Weinstein and Murray placed second on Wednesday, shooting a 73.
“I’ve played with some of these girls before and I know just how good they really are,” said Lehigh, a freshman at Loveland. “Mary and Jaclyn are amazing players, and Amy and Caroline are just as good. They’re all really good friends of mine. It was kind of hard playing against them but at the same time really almost motivating to go out there and try to beat them. To actually do it is just amazing.”
Bundy and Lehigh (left) met each other through the successful LPGA-USGA Girls Golf of Northern Colorado program that LPGA head professional Kim Stiner leads along with her husband, Gale, at the Olde Course in Loveland. And this spring will be their first as teammates on the Loveland High School squad.
After placing third as a team this year in the CJGA Dave Askins Four-Ball event at Legacy Ridge, Bundy and Lehigh really hit stride on Wednesday as they combined for four birdies, with each making two.
After their previous four-ball tournament, “we know how to pick each other up if we hit bad shots,” said Lehigh, the girls 13-14 Colorado qualifying medalist for the IMG Academy Junior World Golf Championships. “We know what we needed to do to keep each other focused. It’s definitely different playing in these things as a team because golf is a very individual sport. You don’t get to play as a team very often, and it’s so much fun playing with her.”
Bundy and Lehigh became the second set of Colorado junior players to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball. Last year, Jennifer Kupcho and Gillian Vance did so, then advanced to the round of 32 at the 2015 national championship. Kupcho now plays for Wake Forest and Vance for the University of Colorado.
U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Qualifying
At Par-72 Columbine CC in Columbine Valley
Qualified for National Championship
Aili Bundy, Fort Collins/Lauren Lehigh, Loveland 36-36–72
Alternates (In Order)
Jaclyn Murray, Aurora/Mary Weinstein, Highlands Ranch 37-36–73
Tiffany Maurycy, Denver/Amy Ellertson, Free Union, Va. 37-37–74
Failed to Qualify
Amy Chitkoksoong, Aurora/Caroline Jordaan, Cherry Hills Village 41-37–78
Taylor Dorans, Erie/Kathleen Kershisnik, Highlands Ranch WD
