Congratulations to Sawyer Brockstedt for winning the girls’ 13 category of the 2020 U.S. Kids World Teen Championship July 25 in Pinehurst, N.C. No Delaware junior golfer won this event in any age group, making it a Delaware first for the Sussex Academy eighth-grader.
It is her biggest win yet and comes after a summer season of competition and long, hard practice.
The championship took place on the 5,700-yard Longleaf Golf and Family Club. Brockstedt had already played well there, winning the U.S. Kids Carolina State Invitational June 6-7.
Brockstedt then played an AJGA Junior All-Star tournament in Clemmons, N.C., June 29-July 2 and tied for fourth. Just before the World Teens, she competed in the TaylorMade TP5 Junior All-Star tournament July 19-22 in Braselton, Ga., coming in 18th.
“I played Braselton just for practice. I shot 75 Monday, 74 Tuesday, and 80 on Wednesday. I think I ran out of energy. We’ve now learned that we have to eat a lot,” Brockstedt said.
Brockstedt and her dad Chase drove to Pinehurst for the World Teens directly from Georgia. She shot an opening round 72 the next day. “I shot par, but I had a lot of scoring opportunities with wedges. If I made a bogey with an 8-iron in, [I could make it up on] the par 5s I could reach [in two shots],” she said.
Brockstedt shot another even-par round of 72 in the second round. A junior who had gone one-under in the first round went two-under in the second, putting Brockstedt three shots back going into the final 18 holes.
One of her golf buddies, Ellison Lundquist of Furlong, Pa., was in the last group for the final, with Brockstedt just ahead. Brockstedt, Lundquist and other friends agreed to use hand signals during the day to alert the others how the round was going for their threesomes.
“We didn’t see the final group until the 17th, because they were three or four holes back the whole day. We’re thinking they’re playing either not well or they’re draining everything and they’re just taking so much time to line up because they’re tied. Then Ellison’s dad signals that they’re all over par.”
“So [my friend] Kate [Barber] and I are like, ‘oh shoot.’ At this point I’m on 15 and 3-under. I par that and go to 16, a par 5. Kate and I both hit our shots tight, and I made eagle. So now I am 5-under. Then I par [17] and she birdies and then we both par the last hole,” she said.
Brockstedt continued, “I go into the scorer’s tent and I ask what was the low round. Someone said 65, and it’s Camille Thai [of Los Altos, Calif.], and she’s two or three groups ahead of me. I was ahead of her by a couple strokes before the round, so I beat her by one. Ellison and the others came in and I won by one,” she said. Her 67 was a career low round.
“That was cool. The most cool part was my best friend Kate, we were there on the 18th hole, and to win that with her and she came in fourth and had a good day, too. So that was really, really special.”
Brockstedt now plays to a plus one handicap. “My putting has gotten better. I worked really hard on it. My speed control has gotten a lot better. I’m not leaving myself 10 feet for the second putt.”
She is also making a name for herself in the junior rankings, currently tied for 406th in the AJGA Rolex all-girls category and in ninth place for girls in her graduation year (2025). She is also in 17th place in the Junior Golf Scoreboard rankings for U.S. juniors in her graduation year.
Dillon wins Rookery Women’s Division Club Championship
Congratulations to Lisa Dillon for winning the Rookery Women’s Division Club Championship, held Aug. 1-2 at the North and South courses. Becky Caprano finished in second place and Ann Reed came in third.
Joan Turci won the Senior Women’s Club Championship, with Suzy Hornyak in second and Denise Tamburo in third.
Janet Montague won the B flight, with Janet Evancho taking second. Sue Scaglione won the C flight, with Peggy Sander in second.
Sue Bardsley won first place net, and Jane Kuhfuss took second net. Cheryl Nelson finished third net and Deb Ronemus came in fourth net.
Local club competition results
The Kings Creek Country Club Ladies 18-Hole group played a low net game July 30. Cory Warther won first place gross in the first flight, with Sally McGovern winning first place net. Katie Heintz took second place net and Donna Deely finished third net.
Jeannine Doane won first place gross in the second flight, with Nancy Froome finishing first place net. Diane Sweeney came in second net and Trisha Ritthaler took third net.
Sheree Mixell won first place gross in the third flight, with Robbie Monkman winning first place net. Dorrie Spillman took second place net and Vicki Martina finished third net.
Yona Zucker won first place gross in the fourth flight, with Joanne Yurik finishing first place net.
Debbie Grant came in second place net and Arlyce Dubbin took third net.
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Fritz Schranck has been writing about the Cape Region's golf community since 1999. Snippets, stories and anecdotes from his columns are included in his new book, "Hole By Hole: Golf Stories from Delaware's Cape Region and Beyond," which is available at the Cape Gazette offices, Browseabout Books in Rehoboth Beach, Biblion Books in Lewes, and local golf courses. His columns and book reviews are available at HoleByHole.com.
Contact Fritz by emailing fschranck@holebyhole.com.
