Deeg Shoots 72 to Claim First Women's State Amateur Championship

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By Nick Hunter
nhunter@mngolf.org


  FOREST LAKE, Minn. – University of Nebraska junior, Cassie Deeg, will return to campus Thursday with her head held just a little higher as Deeg fired an even par 72 Wednesday to win the 2014 Minnesota Women’s State Amateur Championship at Forest Hills Golf Club.

Deeg entered the final round with a one-shot advantage and would go on to win by five shots over Minnesota Gopher Anna Laorr, who finished second at 8-over par 224, while Celia Kuenster, Hailey Boner and Sarah Burnham finished tied for third at 225.

Deeg, Golden Eagle Golf Club, has already compiled an impressive resume as the 20-year-old won the Class AAA state championship in 2011, along with the women’s public links and match play championships the same year.

She added another public links title to her credit last season and claimed her first collegiate victory as well. Deeg has been named Big Ten Golfer of the Week three times in just two seasons and added her biggest amateur victory Wednesday.

“To win here at my old home course with all of my family and friends, and people I grew up playing around was a lot of fun,” Deeg said. “It was big—my coach will probably be pretty excited. I head back to school tomorrow and our first tournament is the first week in September, so I’m feeling pretty good.”

The Cornhusker got off to a shaky start after two-putting the opening hole for bogey with another coming on the ensuing hole as her par putt nearly disappeared in the cup but rattled around the left edge, refusing to fall.

A flustered Deeg missed the green left at the par-3 third hole but would pitch up to four feet before rolling in her putt for par for an early, but crucial up and down.

“That putt was huge,” Deeg said, “it got my momentum going. It was one of those putts that I needed to make to keep my positive energy going and to keep moving forward.”

Essentially playing on her home course, Deeg took control of her round on the fourth hole as she stuck her approach tight to the pin and rolled in her first birdie of the afternoon to get back to 4-over for the championship.

She cruised over the next six holes with consecutive pars before sticking another approach close to tap in for birdie, moving to 3-under through 11.

Deeg made a good bogey on the par-4 12th as her third shot from the greenside bunker came out heavy and dribbled just off the front edge. She rolled her par putt eight feet shy of the cup, but drilled her bogey putt to maintain a four-stroke advantage over Kuenster and Laorr.

Deeg rolled in five consecutive pars before finishing her championship on the highest of notes by draining a 30-foot birdie on the final hole to claim her first Minnesota Women’s State Amateur Championship at 3-over par 219.

Deeg said she liked the way she struck the ball Wednesday compared to how she played during the second round Tuesday.

“My ball striking wasn’t as good as [Monday] but definitely better than yesterday. I was hitting greens, but I had some nice, long lag putts out there today and didn’t have to work too hard for par,” she said.

After an inconspicuous start to the tournament, Laorr fired a round of even par 72 on the final day to finish second, five shots behind Deeg at 224.

Laorr, Hazeltine National Golf Club, began Wednesday’s round with back-to-back bogeys before finding her usual consistency. She rolled in birdies at the fourth and eighth holes to draw even and would rattle off 10 straight pars to finish the championship at 8-over par.

“My swing really didn’t change much this week. I didn’t a little stat analysis last night and through 36 holes, I was about four strokes higher than normal and I was trying to figure out what I was doing differently,” she said. “During the first two rounds I had five three-putts and two [double-bogeys].”

“Today I tried to stay patient. I knew birdies were out there because I was close all week, and if I could eliminate the mistakes, I could shoot a good score and that’s what I did today. I didn’t have one three-putt or double.”

Soon-to-be University of Minnesota freshman, Celia Kuenster, followed her opening round of 78 with a 1-under par 71 Tuesday to jump right back into contention heading into the final round Wednesday.

Kuenster fell to 6-over for the championship with a bogey on the third hole, but took back a stroke by rolling in a birdie on the fifth. She would make the turn at 6-over with another bogey at the seventh before struggling down the stretch.

A double-bogey at the 11th hole put the defending champion four shots off the lead and she would drop another shot on the 15th with a bogey.

She hit a marvelous approach at the par-5 15th hole as her ball flew the pin by 10 feet and spun back narrowly missing the cup, which she tapped in for birdie to get to 8-under.

Kuenster finished the tournament with a bogey on the final hole to card a 4-over par 76, finishing tied for third at 9-over 225.

“I wanted to come out and hit more fairways today, which I did, but my irons weren’t on today. I putted well, but I just couldn’t get them to drop. [Deeg] played really well the last few days and kept it together,” she said.

Despite a frustrating finish to the tournament Kuenster said she is very encouraged by her play this week and optimistic about the start to her collegiate career.

“There are a lot of positive things—I hit a lot of good shots the last few days,” She said. “This course doesn’t exactly set up well [for me]; in the last two days I hit three drivers. So I’ll work on that and get hotter with the putter and the scores should continue to drop. I’m excited to get started and getting together with the team.”

Burnham, Rush Creek Golf Club, played a steady front nine during Wednesday’s final round as she bogeyed the opening hole but would make the turn 1-over as she made eight consecutive pars.

She slipped to 10-over for the championship with a double-bogey on the 11th before making bogey at the 13th. But Burnham would rally late, making two birdies with one bogey over the last five holes to finish tied for third at 225, shooting 75 during the final round.

Boner, Southview Country Club, began the final round with three bogeys on the opening nine holes and made the turn at 10-over for the championship.

A birdie at the par-4 11th hole put her back at 9-over, but she gave away a stroke with a bogey on the 14th. Boner would finish the tournament on a positive note as she rolled in another birdie at the 18th to card a 2-over par 74, finishing tied for third at 225.

Olivia Herrick, back-to-back winner in 2009-10, finished in sixth place Wednesday at 227 after carding a 7-over par 79 during the final round.



43RD MINNESOTA WOMEN’S STATE AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
FOREST HILLS GOLF CLUB
FOREST LAKE, MINN.
6,042 YARDS, PAR 72


FINAL RESULTS
1. Cassie Deeg, Golden Eagle GC, 73-74-72—219
2. Anna Laorr, Hazeltine Nat’l GC, 77-75-72—224
T3. Hailey Boner, Southview CC, 77-74-74—225
T3. Sarah Burnham, Rush Creek GC, 77-73-75—225
T3. Celia Kuenster, Somerset CC, 78-71-76—225
6. Olivia Herrick, Dellwood CC, 74-74-79—227
T7. Taylor Ledwein, New Prague GC, 79-78-71—228
T7. Kate Smith, Ironman GC, 73-76-79—228
T9. Maggie Heggerston, Cragun’s Legacy Courses, 78-75-76—229
T9. Brenna Lervick, Island View GC, 76-77-76—229