BRAINTREE, Massachusetts – The last round of the Girls’ Junior Amateur Championship powered by Kohr Golf was nothing but intense and invigorating.
Throughout the entirety of the round, Madison Smith held a stable lead amongst her competitors up until the 17th hole of her round. She drove her first shot off the tee into a hazard on the left side, forcing her to take a penalty shot that cost her a double on her scorecard.
On her final hole, she needed a par in order to secure the championship title. Nerves and jitters got to her for the first time during competition, causing her to bogey the 18th hole.
The next thing we knew, it was playoff time.
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Round 1 leader Kaitlyn Doe went 2-under for the day in the final round and finished tied with Smith for a total score of 66-77-70-213. The thought of entering a playoff against Smith never crossed her mind.
“I was 6-under the first day and I had a really tough day yesterday,” said Doe. “Today I was just gonna shoot whatever I could to post something.”
The girls headed out to the 18th tee, both determined to secure the title for the first-ever time. Smith had a long drive straight down the middle of the fairway. Doe’s ball went straight left onto the side in the rough, almost going out of bounds.
“I was really nervous,” Doe said. “But I luckily hit a good iron shot.”
Her second shot landed her ball on the right side of the green. Smith’s second shot landed on the green on the exact line that she missed previously for par. Walking onto the green, she knew she didn’t want to make the same mistake twice.
Doe missed her birdie putt by inches. Smith then began her putting routine, already knowing the line of her ball. Her birdie putt rolled in steadily. As it fell to the bottom of the cup, a wave of relief and contentment washed over her face.
Madison is the first-ever Smith sister to have won this title.
“My sisters really pushed me to be the best I can, they are a strong competition for me,” exclaimed Smith. “It’s nice to put the Smith name on the trophy here today.”
We then asked Madison to take us through exactly what was going through her mind on the 17th hole when she hit the ball in the hazard.
“I talked it over with my dad beforehand, he told me to hit an iron off the tee. I didn’t hit an iron off the tee, and I made double,” she said.
This double was her only double of the whole entire championship.
“I was a little mad I’d just made a three-putt for bogey. So, just going in[to] the playoff [I was] trying to make par, but my putt fell, so I was happy about it,” Smith remarked.
Smith’s final score was 68-69-76-213. After a hard-fought playoff, the girls shook hands and walked off the green together, both proud of what they accomplished this year.
Coming in third place was Isabel Brozena. She shot a 75 in the final round, bringing her to a final score of 69-70-75-214. Brozena reached the top of the leaderboard twice throughout the first two days of play and will look to secure the title next year.
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