The IGA’s Girls State Junior Championship wrapped up on Wednesday at Plum Creek Golf Club in Carmel, and three Carmel golfers finished in the top 10.
Angelica Pfefferkorn, a Guerin Catholic graduate, finished up her junior career with a second-place finish. Pfefferkorn totaled a four-over par 220 for the 54-hole tournament, behind only Evansville’s Mallory Russell, who finished with a two-over par 218.
Pfefferkorn carded a 75 for her third round. She had eight birdies for the tournament.
“I played my best, and that’s what I can say for sure,” said Pfefferkorn. “After the first two days, I put myself in a position to win and today after having a couple mistakes, I really tried to put myself back into competition and I gave myself a good chance.”
Pfefferkorn was a three-time state qualifier for the Golden Eagles, and will soon be playing golf for Oklahoma State University. She plans to major in psychology on a Pre-Med track.
“It’s so exciting,” said Pfefferkorn. “I can’t wait to see how I develop as a player and it’s amazing that I get to practice at Oklahoma State and their facilities. I’m definitely a little nervous. It’s a big change, 10 and a half hours away.”
Katie Kuc, a senior-to-be at Carmel and Xavier University commit, tied for fourth with a score of 224. Kuc made three birdies during the tournament. Another Carmel senior-to-be, Sydney Longstreth, finished in eighth place with a 228. Longstreth had nine birdies for the tournament.
Complete results for Hamilton County golfers now follow.
2. Angelica Pfefferkorn, Carmel, 73-72-75=220, T4. Katie Kuc, Carmel, 75-74-75=224, 8. Sydney Longstreth, Carmel, 75-75-78=228, T11. Macy Beeson, Noblesville, 79-74-79=232, 13. Michaela Headlee, Carmel, 74-76-83=233, T14. Ava Hedrick, Carmel, 83-75-76=234; Samantha Brown, Westfield, 79-75-80=234, T25. Elizabeth Hedrick, Carmel, 81-79-82=242, T28. Christina Pfefferkorn, Carmel, 80-79-84=243, T36. Brette Hanavan, Westfield, 90-80-77=247, 38. Taylor Caldwell, Noblesville, 86-79-83=248, T41. Sophie McGinnis, Westfield, 79-95-77=251; Ashley Marcinko, Fishers, 81-83-87=251; Sarah Brenneman, Noblesville, 84-80-87=251, T50. Caroline Whallon, Noblesville, 84-86-82=252, T57. Alison Hildebrand, Westfield, 82-90-82=254, T59. Ellie Karst, Noblesville, 87-88-80=255, 65. Claire Swathwood, Carmel, 86-83-88=257, T66. Payton Schechter, Fishers, 88-89-81=258, T73. Kelsey Haverluck, Westfield, 88-92-83=263; Ava Nguyen, Carmel, 84-88-91=263, 77. Lillian McVay, Fishers, 88-89-94=271.
Total birdies made: Longstreth 9, A. Pfefferkorn 8, Brown 7, Hanavan 5, Caldwell 5, Headlee 4, Whallon 4, Kuc 3, Beeson 3, A. Hedrick 3, McGinnis 3, Marcinko 3, C. Pfefferkorn 2, Karst 2, McVay 2, E. Hedrick 1, Hildebrand 1, Swathwood 1.
STEGER WINS INDIANA OPEN
Eric Steger, a star for Noblesville High School and Ball State University, won the Real Mechanical Indiana Open, which finished up Wednesday at Rock Hollow Golf Club in Peru.
Steger, now in Westfield, totaled a 13-under par 203 for the 54-hole tournament, and went under in all three of his rounds. He had 16 birdies for the event, including a 25-foot birdie on his final putt on Wednesday. Steger also had an eagle in the first round, on hole No. 3.
With the win, Steger followed in the footsteps of his father Scott Steger. They are now the only father-son duo to win both the Indiana Open and the Indiana Amateur championships.
“It’s just super cool to be able to say the Steger boys are the only two to ever win them both,” said Eric Steger in an interview with the Indiana Golf Twitter account.
Carmel’s Brad Gehl finished tied for seventh with a score of 210, putting him six-under par. Gehl also totaled 16 birdies for the event and made one eagle, on hole No. 15 in the third round. The 15th hole proved to be a popular eagle spot, as Fishers’ Graham McAreer made an eagle during his third round, and Carmel’s Stephen Kochera eagled the hole in the second round.
Complete results for county golfers now follow.
1. Eric Steger, Westfield, 71-65-67=203, T7. Brad Gehl, Carmel, 66-76-68=210, 29. Nick Frey, Carmel, 73-74-71=218, T32. Jeff Doty, Carmel, 75-75-70=220; Timmy Hildebrand, Fishers, 73-76-71=220, T47. Graham McAree, Fishers, 74-77-73=224; Cole Harris, Carmel, 71-77-76=224, T50. Mike O’Toole, Noblesville, 76-73-76=225, T57. Zach Dryer, Noblesville, 70-78-79=227.
Missed second-round cut: Austin Vukovits, Noblesville, 73-79=152; Daivic Akala, Hawthorns, 77-75=152; Ivan Foster, Bridgewater, 80-74=154; Stephen Kochera, Carmel, 78-76=154; Caleb Bopp, Fishers, 78-77=155; Nels Surtani, Noblesville, 81-74=155; Brad Mays, Pebble Brook, 80-79=159; Evan Bone, Westfield, 77-82=159; Beau Bricker, Noblesville, 82-79=161; Noah Chamberlin, Fishers, 83-82=165; Mike Cline, Carmel, 84-83=167.
Eagles made: Steger 1 (First round, hole No. 3), Gehl 1 (Third round, hole No. 15), McAree 1 (Third round, hole No. 15), Kochera 1 (Second round, hole No. 15).
Total birdies made: Steger 16, Gehl 16, Hildebrand 14, Harris 13, Frey 11, Doty 11, O’Toole 10, McAree 8, Dryer 8, Foster 7, Kochera 6, Bone 5, Vukovits 4, Akala 4, Bopp 4, Surtani 4, Bricker 3, Cline 2, Mays 1, Chamberlin 1.
Noblesville’s Macy Beeson (right) finished tied for 11th at the Girls State Junior Championship. (Richie Hall)
Carmel’s Katie Kuc (right) tied for fourth place. At left is Sydney Longstreth, another Carmel golfer; she placed eighth and made nine birdies for the tournament. (Richie Hall)