A 73 Puts Davies in Front at Minnesota State Junior Girls' Championship

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  ST. MICHAEL, Minn. – Entering the opening round of the 2022 Minnesota State Junior Girls’ Championship, recent Eden Prairie High School graduate Emma Davies said her two goals were to have fun and break 80.

Davies accomplished both and then some Monday at Fox Hollow Golf Club, firing a 1-over 73 to take the first 18-hole lead at a state championship of her career, one stroke ahead of North Dakota State University commit Madi Hicks.

“I played pretty well on my front nine and kind of fell apart during the back nine,” said Davies, who carded six bogeys against two birdies during her inward nine as winds picked up Monday.

“Before I went out, I was a little worried about my irons. I was not hitting them well, but I trusted what I was playing and tried to have some confidence. [Three birdies on the front nine] definitely helped me relax. I was just playing—it didn’t feel like I was 3-under.”

Beginning her round on the 10th tee Monday, Davies reached the par-5 11th in two and tapped in for birdie before rolling in a 15-footer for birdie at the 12th to quickly get to 2-under for the round.

Davies took advantage of the par-5 14th by two-putting from 20 feet to turn in 3-under but would stumble to open her back nine with three consecutive bogeys.

Once again, Davies capitalized on the long holes at Fox Hollow Monday, carding birdies at the fourth and fifth holes to get back to 2-under, but finished her day at 1-over following three consecutive bogeys beginning at the sixth.

“I need to stick to what I did today and come back and improve on the front nine,” Davies said ahead of Tuesday’s final round.

Davies, who will play her collegiate golf at the University of St. Thomas next fall, bounced back from an opening-round 79 in June to begin the Class AAA state championship, carding a 2-under 70 during the final round to place tied for eighth.

Hicks, the Minnesota Junior PGA Match Play champion a year ago, scattered two early birdies against two bogeys to close out her opening nine at even par before playing her final nine in 2-over.

“I think today was a very good score in the wind,” Hicks said Monday. “When we made the turn, it really picked up and a lot of the tough holes played into the wind. I ended up going 2-over on the last four, but I was fine with that considering how tough it was. I hit some good shots.”

Teeing off on the 10th Monday, Hicks got up-and-down after going long at the par-5 11th and would roll in a 15-footer at the 12th to move up the leaderboard at 2-under. She closed out her front nine at even par following bogeys at the 16th and 17th.

Carding her third bogey of the round at the first, Hicks battled back by reaching the fourth in two and two-putted for birdie. She took a step back with a bogey at the sixth and finished the day in second after a bogey at the eighth, shooting 2-over 74.

“The wind changes the game plan of not attacking and knowing that par on those holes is amazing,” Hicks said. “You can probably pick up a stroke or more on the field if you make par there.

“I hit my driver really well. I only hit one bad shot—bad timing on 17 in the hazard. I was striping the driver pretty well in the wind, so it didn’t affect it too much.”

Hicks owns a pair of Twin Cities Junior Championship wins, and earned medalist honors in 2018 at Fox Hollow, leading her squad to the Minnesota Golf Association Junior Team Championship for the first of two straight titles.

Following her Minnesota Junior PGA Players’ Tour Tournament of Champions win in 2019, Hicks defeated Sammy Youngquist at the Minnesota Junior PGA Match Play Championship at Cragun’s Dutch Legacy Course for her most recent state win.

Hicks enjoyed a strong senior season at Chanhassen High School, named a finalist for the Ms. Minnesota Golf award finalist in June before posting a final-round 70 to place fourth at the Class AAA state tournament at Bunker Hills Golf Club.

Coming off her recent win at the MGA Mixed Amateur Team Championship, Lily Vincelli carded a 3-over 75 Monday to finish her opening round tied for third with Avery O’Donnell and Ava Hanneman.

Paige Johnson, from The Links at Northfork, posted a 5-over 77 to sit on top of the leaderboard in the First Flight Monday. She will take a five-stroke lead over Selena Qiao to the final round Tuesday.

The final round of the 2022 Minnesota Girls’ State Junior Championship is scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday at Fox Hollow Golf Club.