By RICHIE HALL
If people in the Indiana golf world don’t know who Angelica Pfefferkorn is, they might want to start paying attention.
The Guerin Catholic junior chipped in a birdie to win a playoff at the Crooked Stick Invitational, which took place Thursday at the famous Carmel country club. Pfefferkorn and Zionsville’s Annabelle Pancake both shot 71s after their rounds, and Pfefferkorn won on the first playoff hole.
“It was a great day,” said Pfefferkorn. “The greens were rolling beautifully and I was hitting the shots I needed to.”
The Eagles won the team tournament, shooting a 308. Carmel finished second with a 321, then the Golden Eagles took third by scoring 332. Westfield was fourth with 342.
Pfefferkorn admitted that she “definitely was nervous” before making the winning chip.”I was just trying to get as close as possible and make an up-and-down,” she said. This was her first tournament victory since winning the Circle City Conference tournament last season.
“It feels great,” said Pfefferkorn. “I’m off to a much better start than last season.”
The Greyhounds were led by sophomore Katie Kuc, who placed third individually with a 74. Freshman Ava Hedrick helped out with a 78.
“This is a challenging course, so a couple of them, they’ve never seen before,” said Carmel coach Kelly Kluesner. “We had some battles, but overall they played well, of course led by Katie. She played an awesome round.”
After Pfefferkorn’s round, senior Mckayla Tallman scored an 83 for the Golden Eagles, who will host the All-Catholic tournament today at Pebble Brook Golf Course in Noblesville.
“Angelica’s obviously had a great start,” said GC coach Mark Mathews. “Seventy-two, 74, 71. Nice playoff win today at Crooked Stick. I have a solid 2-3-4 and I don’t know if they’re putting too much pressure on themselves. They’re not even coming close to playing to their potential, but they played solid golf today and they’re working hard at it. That’s all we can ask.”
Jocelyn Bruch led the Shamrocks with a 75, with Natalie Shupe scoring an 80. Carmel and Westfield will next play Saturday at the Fall Preview meet at Prairie View.
Team scores: Zionsville 308, Carmel 321, Guerin Catholic 332, Westfield 342, Cathedral 435, Brebeuf Jesuit 454.
Medalist: Angelica Pfefferkorn (GC) 71, won in playoff.
Carmel scores: Katie Kuc 74, Ava Hedrick 78, Sydney Longstreth 84, Nina Hecht 85, Elizabeth Hedrick 87.
Other Guerin Catholic scores: Mckayla Tallman 83, Sophie McGinnis 86, Christina Pfefferkorn 92, Jenna Rust 112.
Westfield scores: Jocelyn Bruch 75, Natalie Shupe 80, Grace Snyder 93, Megan Barker 94, Cate Jensen 98.
Guerin Catholic’s Angelica Pfefferkorn won the Crooked Stick Invitational on Thursday, making a birdie chip on a first playoff hole. Pfefferkorn is pictured with Tony Pancake, director of golf and club operation at Crooked Stick. (Photo provided)