Evergreen – Traversing the hills and dales of Hiwan Golf Club and trying to decipher its mean greens can feel like a lot of work. That survival test, Jane Rah said, will make her victory in the Rolex Girls Junior Championship on Friday always mean something special.
At 6,361 yards and playing to a par 70, Hiwan was set up to play longer and tougher than most American Junior Golf Association events.
“It feels good. This course tests every part of your game,” said Rah, 16. “It’s great that I won my first major on a course like this.”
A junior-to-be at Torrance (Calif.) High School, Rah finished with a 4-over-par 74 for a 54-hole total of 7-over 217. Playing it safe on No. 18 with a bogey, she cruised by a two-stroke margin over second-round leader Mina Harigae of Monterey, Calif. Jessica Wallace, a Canadian also playing in the final group, placed third at 220.
This invitational tournament is the AJGA’s version of a major championship for young female golfers. Rah had won four previous AJGA tournaments in her career, including this year’s Ping Junior at The Woodlands (Texas). She called the Rolex Junior Girls the biggest victory of her career.
“I just tried to be patient out there,” said Rah, who stayed steady with 37-37.
Harigae, 17, began the final round with a one-stroke lead but shot 40 on the front nine today and never threatened.
“I tried (to put pressure on Rah) but I just wasn’t playing good enough,” said Harigae, a senior-to-be who plans to sign with Duke. “I just mis-clubbed a lot. It was awful. When I went for the shorter club, it was way short. When I went for the longer club, it went too long.”
Wallace, a senior-to-be from Langley, British Columbia, trailed Rah by only a stroke as they walked to the No. 15 tee box. But Wallace missed the green on that hole and also the next two, going bogey-bogey-double bogey.
At No. 15, Wallace tried to putt from 2 feet off the green but the ball dived right and stopped 8 feet short of the cup. On the next hole, she used a wedge but chipped 30 feet past.
“I made some mental mistakes,” said Wallace, who plans to make recruiting visits to CU and the University of Denver during this trip. “I should have left myself uphill chips.”
A birdie on No. 18 enabled Harigae to overtake Wallace for second place. Neither made Rah sweat down the stretch.
Kimberly Kim, a 15-year-old Hawaiian and the reigning U.S. Women’s Amateur Champion, tied for fifth place at 225. Alexis Thompson, who on Monday became the youngest (12) qualifier in U.S. Women’s Open Championship history, finished at 230 to tie for ninth.
Kayley Kempton, a recent graduate of Heritage High School, led the four Coloradans competing by matching Thompson’s 230. Former Kent Denver golfer Andrea Watts, who now attends the Pendleton School in Bradenton, Fla., tied for 21st at 234. Littleton High School senior-to-be Becca Huffer finished at 239. Monarch senior-to-be Brooke Collins shot 241.
Staff writer Tom Kensler can be reached at 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
