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player ready...The shotgun start at the Class AA state girls golf tournament on Saturday, Oct. 17, made it difficult to follow the leaders on the course.
The format change was due to cold temperatures expected at Hickory Point Golf Course in Forsyth. Hinsdale Central’s Jessica Lee had to hold on tight after the junior from Oak Brook was a co-leader after Friday’s first round.
“I had no idea of my placement,” Lee said. “I was not even sure if I was still in contention or if I would drop out of the lead. I just wanted to play my best.”
The shotgun start at 9:30 a.m. meant golfers would all finish around the same time. Once she wrapped up her 36th hole of the tournament, Lee learned she tied for second with defending state champion Jessica Yuen of Neuqua Valley at 145. Lee shot 2-over-par 74 Saturday after her 71 in the first round tied her with Barrington’s Reena Sulkar.
She started the second round on the second tee and had three birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey on the par-4 18th. On the first day she recorded four birdies and three bogeys.
Rockford Guilford sophomore Madayn Pettersen, the Illinois Women’s Open champion in July, fired a pair of 72s to finish at 144 for a one-stroke victory.
Lee is the second Hinsdale Central girls golfer to place top-two at state, along with Alexandra Lederhausen, the Class AA state champion in 2006.
With three players in the top 10, Hinsdale Central (617) rolled to the back-to-back state championship and became the first Class AA repeat winner since Normal U-High (2006-07).
“I played pretty good,” Lee said. “I was excited after I played well the day before. I wanted to keep up the momentum and help my team win state.”
Lee placed 18th at state last season, while sophomore Roshannah Gaur was the Red Devils’ top finisher at eighth. Gaur tied for ninth on Saturday.
Lee was Hinsdale Central’s most consistent golfer in the postseason. She carded three-straight 71s, at the Hinsdale South Regional, the Neuqua Valley Sectional and the first round of state until wrapping up with a 74.
Keeping close
Best friends Lee and Selina Zeng will return next season to help Hinsdale Central on its quest for a third consecutive state championship.
Lee and Zeng live less than a mile apart in Oak Brook.
“If I feel like going to the range and practice, I’ll call her and we go practice together,” Lee said.
The juniors usually practice together at Oak Brook Golf Course. Zeng works with instructors at The Players Service, while Lee joined the Committed Athlete Program at Mistwood Golf Club.
Zeng tied for sixth (74-79—153) on Saturday at state after placing 22nd last season. She was Hinsdale Central’s low scorer at the Neuqua Valley Sectional with a 70 to tie for third place, while Lee came in fifth.
Lee and Zeng have known each other since the fourth grade when they attended Brook Forest Elementary before heading to Butler Jr. High.
“We’ve known each other for so long,” Zeng said. “We roomed together (at state) for our freshman and sophomore years.”
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