The last two years the event was held in Colorado, Colorado State University teammates Katrina Prendergast and Ellen Secor earned the only national qualifying spot available, though the first alternates last year ended up getting into the national championship.

After being qualifying medalists a year ago at Walnut Creek Golf Preserve, Prendergast and Secor went on to win the U.S. Women’s Four-Ball title in May (READ MORE), meaning they’re exempt from qualifying for the 2019 championship. That event is set for April 27-May 1 at Timuquana Country Club in Jacksonville, Fla. (Prendergast and Secor are pictured with the trophy in a USGA photo.)

So when qualifying for the championship is held Wednesday (Sept. 5) at Fox Hollow Golf Course in Lakewood, a new medalist is guaranteed after two years of domination by Prendergast and Secor.

Eleven two-person teams will compete best-ball at Fox Hollow for one spot in the national championship.

Among those scheduled to play on Wednesday are Coloradans Hailey Schalk and Charlotte Hillary, two of the top girls players in the state, who made it to the U.S. Women’s Four-Ball in May after having been the first alternates in qualifying. The two ended up advancing to match play in the national event, losing 1 down in the round of 32.

Also in the field at Fox Hollow are two sister teams — Lauren and Katelyn Lehigh and Caroline and Marie Jordaan — along with two sets for college teammates (Mary Weinstein and Anni Heck from the University of Denver and Haley Greb and Jessica Sloot from CSU).

For Wednesday’s pairings, CLICK HERE.
 

Two U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball qualifying tournaments with current CSU teammates, two success stories.

A year after teaming up with Jessica Sloot to qualify for the national Women’s Four-Ball, Secor did it again on Tuesday, this time with CSU sophomore Katrina Prendergast.

Secor and Prendergast shot a 2-under-par 69 Tuesday at The Ranch Country Club in Westminster to earn the lone available qualifying spot for the third annual U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship.

Secor, an 18-year-old freshman from Oregon, and Prendergast, a 19-year-old sophomore from Nevada, finished strong to land the medalist spot, playing the last four holes in 3 under par and making an eagle on the 417-yard par-5 16th hole. They finished the day with an eagle, three birdies and three bogeys. (The two are pictured above, with Prendergast at left.)

Though the qualifier was held in October, the U.S. Women’s Four-Ball for which Prendergast and Secor punched their tickets won’t be contested until May 27-31 at The Dunes Golf & Beach Club in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

“These national tournaments are learning experiences,” Secor said. “I just try to have fun with it because you never know when you’re going to be there next. Fortunately for me, this is my second year in a row going to this (national ) tournament, which is one of the best USGA tournaments out there.

“This one does mean a lot because me and KP, this is our first year together. It’ll be a lot of fun for us because it will be another bonding experience. These national tournaments are a huge steppingstone for us and for our (CSU) program because it makes us look really good.”

Secor and Sloot not only qualified for the 2016 national championship, but advanced to match play. Overall, the 2017 Four-Ball will be the fourth USGA championship for both Prendergast and Secor, each of whom has been to the U.S. Women’s Amateur and the U.S. Girls’ Junior. In fact, Prendergast, runner-up in the Mountain West Conference Championships as a CSU freshman, also qualified in Colorado for this year’s U.S. Women’s Am.

“I played in the Women’s Amateur this year and it was awesome to play with the really good amateurs there,” Prendergast said. “It’s really good competition. These are good preparation for college tournaments and even later in life for pro tournaments. So it’s great to be able to qualify, especially with your teammate.”

Prendergast and Secor chipped in twice on Tuesday — for birdie on No. 9 by Secor and for eagle on No. 16 by Prendergast.

“We had a rough start, bogeying the first par-5, but we finished strong,” Prendergast noted.

Finishing second in Tuesday’s seven-team field were sisters Lauren and Katelyn Lehigh of Loveland — 15 and 12 years old, respectively — who posted a 72 after bogeying their final two holes. They’re the first alternates from Tuesday’s qualifier. Lauren Lehigh qualified last year for the 2016 U.S. Women’s Four-Ball — with teammate Aili Bundy — but they elected not to play because the national event conflicted with the girls state high school tournaments.

Placing third Tuesday — and landing the second alternate spot — were Georgiana Salant of Boulder and Isabella Salant of Carlsbad, Calif., who carded a 73.

Tuesday marked the final USGA qualifier in Colorado for 2016.

U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Qualifying
At Par-71 The Ranch CC in Westminster

QUALIFIED FOR U.S. WOMEN’S FOUR-BALL
Katrina Prendergast, Sparks, Nev./Ellen Secor, Portland 35-34–69
ALTERNATES (In Order)
Lauren Lehigh, Loveland/Katelyn Lehigh, Loveland 34-38–72
Georgiana Salant, Boulder/Isabella Salant, Carlsbad, Calif. 35-38–73
FAILED TO QUALIFY
Ampi Diaz, Mexico/Ericka Diaz, Mexico 37-36–73
Kathy Malpass, Evergreen/Katherine Moore-Lilly, Longboat Key, Fla. 37-40–77
Amy Chitkoksoong, Aurora/Caroline Jordaan, Cherry Hills Village 42-38–80
Wendy Atkinson, Westminster/Kathleen Johnson, Broomfield 43-44–87
Christie Austin, Denver/Janet Moore, Centennial WD

This will mark the final USGA qualifying tournament of the year in Colorado — women’s or men’s — but in this case the golfers will be competing for a spot in a 2017 national championship. The U.S. Women’s Four-Ball is set for May 27-31 at The Dunes Golf & Beach Club (pictured) in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Back in the qualifying field this year is Lauren Lehigh of Loveland, who qualified last year for the 2016 U.S. Women’s Four-Ball — with then-teammate Aili Bundy — but elected not to play because the national event conflicted with the girls state high school tournaments. Lehigh will team up with sister Katelyn this time.

Among the other two-person teams entered in the four-ball stroke-play qualifier are Kathy Malpass of Evergreen and Katherine Moore-Lilly of Cordillera Golf Club, who both played in last month’s U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur and won the first flight of this year’s CWGA Brassie Championship; Amy Chitkoksoong of Aurora and Caroline Jordaan of Cherry Hills Village, both runners-up in their respective girls state high school tournaments in the spring; and Colorado State University teammates Katrina Prendergast and Ellen Secor.

For Tuesday’s tee times, CLICK HERE.

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