By RICHIE HALL
It’s been an eventful week for Jocelyn Bruch, a week that ended on a winning note.
Bruch played at the USGA Women’s Amateur tournament at the start of the week, then returned home to Westfield to join the Shamrocks team in their meets at Crooked Stick Thursday and the State Preview meet at Prairie View on Saturday. Bruch won individual medalist honors at Prairie View and helped Westfield to a runner-up finish in the team standings.
Bruch went three under par for the day, carding a 69. She did so with a remarkable streak towards the end of her round, making four consecutive birdies.
“The beginning was kind of slow,” said Bruch. “My putting was a little cold. I was coming up short. But then I birdied 16, 17, 18 and 1, so I had a hot streak there at the end. My last hole was No. 2. I just got in a zone there at the end and I was finally matching the speed of my putter.”
Bruch played at the Women’s Amateur tournament earlier in the week, at Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point, Miss.
“It was so cool,” said Bruch. “The course was amazing. All the volunteers and officials treated us great. It’s just a great event overall and it was a lot of fun to be a part of.”
As a team, the sixth-ranked Shamrocks finished with a score of 314, behind only top-ranked and defending state champion Evansville North, which totaled 303. Westfield had solid scored all around, with Sophie McGinnis adding a 78 and Natalie Shupe scoring 81.
“We had a lot of kids that worked really hard this summer and it’s showing on our scorecards, the improvement that we made,” said Shamrocks coach Trevor Neu. “So it was nice to come out today in a field like this and shoot really good scores and put up a really good team score.”
“Since we didn’t make it as a team last year, this just gives us a lot of confidence moving forward and knowing that we belong here,” said Bruch.
Carmel finished fifth as a team, with a score of 329. Katie Kuc led the second-ranked Greyhounds with a 78, with Elizabeth Hedrick scoring 80.
“They played well, we just had a couple holes that snuck up and got us,” said Carmel coach Kelly Kluesner. “But I was proud of how all of the girls came back after those less than favorable holes. We look forward to matches here in the next couple weeks.”
Hamilton Southeastern finished with a score of 371. Amber Luttrell led the No. 12 Royals with an 88.
“We hung in there, we didn’t quit,” said Southeastern coach Steve Guenin. “The course played long, it was tough. We did a lot of nice things. We have to work on being more consistent. Overall, we’re happy with what happened. We know we got work to do for sure. But the girls did a nice job today.”
Guerin Catholic scored 373. The No. 15 Golden Eagles were led by Angelica Pfefferkorn with a 77, and Christina Pfefferkorn with an 81.
Team scores: Evansville North 303, Westfield 314, Homestead 320, Zionsville 325, Carmel 329, Columbus North 339, NorthWood 348, Crown Point 355, Evansville Memorial 364, Center Grove 368, Franklin Community 369, Hamilton Southeastern 371, Guerin Catholic 373, Northridge 379, Bedford North Lawrence 387, Heritage Christian 402, South Bend Saint Joseph 402, Richmond 418.
Medalist: Jocelyn Bruch (Westfield) 69.
Other Westfield scores: Sophie McGinnis 78, Natalie Shupe 81, Allie Hildebrand 86, Brette Hanavan 94.
Carmel scores: Katie Kuc 78, Elizabeth Hedrick 80, Ava Hedrick 83, Sydney Longstreth 88, Ava Nguyen 89.
Southeastern scores: Amber Luttrell 88, Maggie Watson 93, Payton Schechter 93, Ashley Marcinko 93, Marissa Spreitzer 99.
Guerin Catholic scores: Angelica Pfefferkorn 77, Christina Pfefferkorn 81, Jenna Rust 107, Audrey Kunce 108, Jenny Zerla 127.
Millers take 2nd at Chippendale
Noblesville opened its season by placing second at the Kokomo Invitational Saturday at Chippendale Golf Club.
The 20th-ranked Millers scored 339, with Penn carding 329 to win the event. Ellie Karst led Noblesville with an 82, followed by Sarah Brenneman 83, Taylor Caldwell 86, Mia Sommervold 88 and Caroline Whallon 91.
The Westfield girls golf team finished second at the State Preview meet Saturday at Prairie View Golf Club. The Shamrocks scored 314 as a team. (Richie Hall)