Holy Family’s Hailey Schalk has attracted plenty of attention in the world of junior golf for a while now, even though she’s just 15 years old.
She was promising enough to receive college golf scholarship offers early in her eighth-grade school year. Even though she won’t graduate from high school until 2020, she’s ranked No. 235 among the world’s female junior golfers by Junior Golf Scoreboard.
And this week, she showed again what the buzz is all about by becoming the first freshman in 15 years to win a Colorado girls state high school individual title. Schalk prevailed by seven strokes Tuesday in the inaugural 3A state tournament at The Broadlands in Broomfield.
“You have four years of high school, so to start off with a win is really cool,” she said. “This is big. And to have my best round ever (a 6-under-par 65 on Monday) set the bar higher. Winning this is pretty cool.” (Schalk is pictured celebrating Tuesday’s win as a very happy father Matt looks on.)
Schalk, who won the girls championship in the Colorado Junior Match Play last summer, backed up her career-best 65 on Monday with a 3-over-par 74 on Tuesday, giving her a 3-under 139 total.
The last freshman girl to win an individual state high school title was Mullen’s Ashley Tait, who claimed the first of her record-tying three prep state championships in 2002. Coincidentally, Tait was at The Broadlands this week as an assistant coach for her high school alma mater.
Not only had no freshman won a girls state title in 15 years, from 2007-16 it was all juniors and seniors.
Tuesday was just a continuation of what has been an extraordinary freshman season in which Schalk (left) won every high school tournament in which she competed.
“I’m super impressed she shot the type of scores and played the way she did,” said Matt Schalk, Hailey’s dad and the Holy Family coach, as well as being the PGA general manager at Colorado National Golf Club, which hosted the 4A state tournament. “She works so hard, so for me I was happy to see her get something out of working as hard as she does. In my opinion 3A is the most competitive (Colorado girls high school classification) out there. So for her to come out here and shoot that score and separate herself was really impressive.”
At state, Schalk’s winning margin was one of the largest in state history, but nowhere near a record. Jennifer Kupcho, who just finished second individually in the Women’s NCAA Finals for Wake Forest, won her two 4A state titles, in 2014 and ’15, by 14 and 10 shots, respectively.
On Tuesday, Schalk was on track to go where very few girls competitors in Colorado have gone before at state. She was 8 under par through 26 holes before giving five back to par in her final 10 holes in windy conditions.
Schalk finished seven shots ahead of runner-up Charlotte Hillary of Kent Denver, winner of the JGAC Junior Tour Championship last fall. Hillary made a 15-foot birdie on her final hole to close with a 72 on Tuesday.
Teammates Caroline Jordaan (75 Tuesday) and Cassie Kneen (76) shared third place at 147, leading Colorado Academy to its fourth state title since 2007. And, of course, CA will go down as the first 3A girls state high school golf team champion in Colorado.
“There’s only one time to be first,” noted Beth Folsom, who has coached Colorado Academy to all four of its state titles. “That will be something we can always look back on.”
With CA shooting its best team score of the season in round 1 — a 2-over-par 215 — it ended up finishing 28 strokes ahead of runner-up Holy Family. The Colorado Academy seniors went third, second and first twice at state in their high school careers.
“It’s always fun” winning state, Folsom said. “It was a goal obviously from the beginning of the year because they had won last year (in 4A).”
Colorado Academy ended up putting all four of its players in the top 10 individually, with Caroline Jordaan and Kneen tying for third, Marie Jordaan placing seventh and Trinity Goderstad 10th. (The team is pictured with its championship trophy.)
But no one could keep up with Schalk, who was playing less than a mile from her high school. She made 10 birdies in 36 holes, including eight on Monday, when she started the tournament with five conscutive birdies. A change in putters on the eve of the state meet worked wonders.
“Everything kind of came together for her (on Monday),” Matt Schalk said. “She’s been striking the ball great. And we decided to (switch putters) on Sunday night and it all worked. If she can get her putter working, she’s really such a good ball-striker, she’ll shoot some good numbers.”
Chitkoksoong Prevails in Playoff in 5A: Sophomore Amy Chitkoksoong (left) of Grandview, like Schalk a member of the 2016 CWGA Girls Junior America’s Cup team, won the 5A individual title after beating Highlands Ranch’s Jenna Chun on the third hole of a sudden-death playoff.
Both players tied at 10-over-par 154 on the formidable Club at Rolling Hills course in Golden. Chun vaulted up the leaderboard by shooting the best score of the tournament by three strokes, following up an 83 with a 1-under-par 71. Chitkoksoong, the 2015 Colorado Junior Match Play champion, posted a second-round 76, then overcame Chun in the playoff with a bogey on the third extra hole.
The left-hander has now finished second and first in her two state high school tournaments.
First-round leader Amelia Lee of Rock Canyon, who will play her college golf at Creighton, placed third at 155 after an 80 on Tuesday.
Ralston Valley rallied to claim its first state team title in girls golf, thanks largely to a 13-over-par 229 on Tuesday. Rock Canyon was nine back to take second.
Lehigh Overcomes Loveland Teammate for 4A Title: Sophomore Lauren Lehigh fended off Loveland teammate Aili Bundy and Glenwood Springs’ Lauren Murphy to earn the 4A individual championship at Colorado National Golf Club in Erie.
Lehigh, the first-round leader, posted an 8-over-par 152 total after a 79 on Tuesday. Bundy, with whom Lehigh qualified for the 2016 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball (though they didn’t end up playing in the national tournament), finished one back following a 75. Also at 153 was Murphy, who closed with a 78.
With Lehigh and Bundy going 1-2 individually, it’s not surprising that Loveland ran away with the state team title — the school’s first in girls golf. The Indians finished at 26-over-par 475, 27 better than runner-up Windsor.
For scores from the state tournaments, click on the following: 5A, 4A, 3A.
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After all, with the venue’s very challenging greens, course knowledge could play a large role in determining who is handed the trophy come Thursday. And considering two members who are CGA Senior Amateur champions are entered, the Rolling Hills contingent definitely should not be overlooked at the 54-hole championship, which will start on Tuesday.
Former CGA president Bill Fowler (pictured), who’s part of that contingent, will be looking to parlay his home-course advantage into a second straight Senior Amateur title after having prevailed at Colorado Golf Club last year. Among the other entrants from Rolling Hills are Scott Radcliffe, winner of the 2010 CGA Senior Amateur and the 2004 CGA Senior Match Play; and Sean Forey, the 2010 CGA Senior Player of the Year and recent runner-up in the CGA Super-Senior Stroke Play.
Joining Fowler and Radcliffe among the past champions entered are Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kent Moore (2014), winner of the 2016 CGA Super-Senior Stroke Play; Harry Johnson (2013); David Delich (2012); and Robert Polk (2005, ’07 and ’09). Other winners of CGA senior individual titles who will compete at Rolling Hills include Tom Musselman, Ray Makloski, Guy Mertz and Jeff Oneth, who won the 2016 CGA Senior Match Play. Robin Bradbury, who last month qualified for the U.S. Senior Amateur and was low senior amateur in the Rocky Mountain Open, is also entered.
The field will be cut to the low 40 players and ties after two rounds.
Worth noting: Until this year, the CGA Senior Amateur was known as the CGA Senior Stroke Play.
For Tuesday’s first-round pairings, CLICK HERE.
]]>But they have this much in common: Neither left any doubt in their title matches at the 98th CWGA Match Play Championship at the Club at Rolling Hills in Golden.
Spinzig (pictured at left), a senior-to-be on the Colorado State University golf team, defeated CSU-Pueblo golfer Michaela Breit, 10 and 9 in the open-division championship match that was scheduled for 36 holes. And Eaton (pictured below), who like Breit grew up in Greeley, beat defending champion Mary Doyen of Foothills Golf Course 6 and 5 in the senior championship flight final. It was Eaton’s second senior title in this event following her 2010 win.
In both the open and senior championship flights, the margins of victory were the largest in the CWGA Match Play finals dating back through at least 2005, before which record-keeping is incomplete.Winning a state amateur “is a big deal,” Spinzig said. “I came into this week feeling pretty good about my game, but actually winning is a whole different story. I’ve never won anything like this before, so I’m pretty excited.
“It makes me more excited for this coming year in college. It gives me a little more confidence that I can play with people who are better than me at this level.”
In a matchup of 21-year-olds, Spinzig birdied three of the first five holes Wednesday and was 1 under par at the turn of the first round. She struggled some on the back nine, but was 8 up on Breit through 13 holes.
Breit, who plays out of Highland Hills Golf Course, won two straight holes on the front nine of the afternoon round to narrow the gap to 7 down, but Spinzig’s even-par 36 on that side was enough to end the match after 27 holes.
“She threw three birdies at me in the first five holes; she played very well today,” Breit (pictured at left) said of Spinzig. “I didn’t play my best. The first two days I was rolling my putts in all the time. Today I rolled in a couple of (long ones) but the 7-footers that were dropping no matter where I was Tuesday and Monday just didn’t go in today. It happens. She put up one heck of a good score today.“But just the fact that I can say I got second place (in a state amateur), I’m really happy with how I did this week.”
At Rolling Hills, where being above the hole can sometimes result in putting off the green — even for championship players — Spinzig probably had an advantage on the greens. That’s because she grew up playing Hiwan, which features similarly devilish putting surfaces.
“Usually putting is a pretty big strength,” said Spinzig (pictured at left with her trophy). “My home course is Hiwan, so I felt pretty comfortable out here. But when you’re above the hole putting downhill, it’s really hard to stop the putt anywhere. I think we all had a few of those putts this week.”In the senior championship flight final, Eaton made a statement on the first nine by winning five straight holes (Nos. 3-7) with pars. Doyen cut the deficit with pars that won holes 8 and 9, where Eaton three-putted.
But Eaton birdied two of the first three holes on the back nine, then closed it out by halving No. 13 with a bogey.
“I didn’t play like I did the last two days,” said Eaton, who will turn 54 next month. “Before today my last four rounds had been under par. For me to play four or five (straight) days under par is usually unheard of.”
Doyen was seeking her second straight senior championship flight title, but she likewise wasn’t at her best on Wednesday.
“I knew I would really have to bring my ‘A’ game to have a chance,” the 61-year-old said. “Unfortunately, I didn’t. Kim is a great player. I did the best I could, but it wasn’t nearly enough today.”
This week, Eaton prevailed in her three matches by margins of 10 and 8 — winning every hole in the quarterfinals — 4 and 3, and 6 and 5.
For Eaton, who now lives in Arizona most of the year but is spending part of this summer in Colorado, Wednesday marked a victory milestone. It was her 20th CWGA title — or “the big 2-0” as she put it. She’s won four Stroke Plays, one Match Play, one Junior Match Play, three Senior Stroke Plays, two Senior Match Plays, and nine team events: six Brassies, one Mashie, one Chapman and one Mixed.
“Anytime you can keep winning state championships they’re always special,” Eaton said.
And her success is by no means limited to Colorado. Between Colorado, Arizona and California, she’s won 11 state senior individual championships since turning 50. Just this year, she’s claimed senior titles in California, Arizona and Colorado.
CWGA Match Play Championship
At the Club at Rolling Hills in Golden
Open Championship Flight Final — Christina Spinzig, Hiwan GC def. Michaela Breit, Highland Hills GC, 10 and 9
Open Championship Flight Consolation Final — Jennifer Kupcho, CommonGround GC def Taylor Dorans, Eagle Trace GC 21 holes
Senior Championship Flight Final — Kim Eaton, Riverdale GC def Mary Doyen, Foothills GC 6 & 5
Senior Championship Flight Consolation Final — Cindy Pallatino, CommonGround GC def Sue Davis, CommonGround GC 2 & 1
Open First Flight Final — Jennie Chun, Lone Tree GC def Lori Lawrence, Cherry Hills CC 1 up
Open First Flight Consolation Final — Sheila Shroeder, Broken Tee GC def. Susan Schell, Red Rocks CC 4 & 2
Senior First Flight Final — Jessi McVay, CommonGround GC def Christie Austin, Cherry Hills GC 1 up
Senior First Flight Consolation Final — Jane Ford, Todd Creek GC def Jennifer Hocking, Cherokee Ridge GC 19 holes
Senior Second Flight Final — Kay Geitner, South Suburban GC def Donna Edelen, Riverdale GC 4 & 3
Senior Second Flight Consolation Final — Cindy Davis, Fox Hollow GC def Jennie Jones, Raccoon Creek GC 3 & 1
Senior Third Flight Final — Rose Rismanchi, Fitzimons GC def Carolyn Badley, The Club at Rolling Hills 4 & 3
Senior Third Flight Consolation Final — Sherry Lewis, Vail GC def Becky Finger, Riverdale GC 5 & 3