Late Birdies Help Hicks Remain in Front at MGA Women's Amateur

• 2024 MGA Women's Amateur Championship Final Round
• 2024 MGA Women's Amateur Championship Round 2
• 2024 MGA Women's Amateur Championship Round 1

View full size image

View full size image

View full size image

  GLENWOOD, Minn. – A scorecard with multiple double-bogeys on it wasn’t exactly what Madi Hicks anticipated during her second round at the 2024 Minnesota Golf Association Women’s Amateur Championship Tuesday, but the North Dakota State University junior grinded out three birdies during her final nine holes for a round of 76 to hold the lead the for the second consecutive day.

Hicks looks to add to her total of nine state championship victories, taking a one-stroke lead over defending champion Kathryn VanArragon and Emma Welch to the final round Wednesday.

“My driver was really good today, so I was in good position starting out on most holes, which was really helpful,” Hicks said Tuesday. “A couple double-of double-bogeys were unfortunate, but I put myself in some bad spots.

“Today was more stressful. Yesterday my irons were my bread and butter, but today, they were not good. When I hit a bad shot, I was pretty far off. Irons were going left, going right, and coming up short.”

Hicks played her opening nine in 3-over Tuesday before sinking a 15-footer for birdie at the par-5 10th.

She followed her second double-bogey of the round at the 11th with a bogey at the 12th to drop back to 4-over for the championship.

Bouncing back by converting her birdie look from 15 feet at the 15th, Hicks would then fail to get up-and-down to save par at the 17th.

Sticking her approach to 10 feet at the 18th, Hicks rolled in one final birdie putt to close out her second round with a 4-over 76 to pace the field once again.

“The wind shifted from yesterday, so some of the longer par-4s were with the wind, which was helpful, but some of the longer par-3s were into the wind. The wind was definitely trickier today and the greens may have been a bit faster.”

Since 2017, Hicks has earned 30 top-10s at state championships, including nine wins and five runner-up finishes.

Claiming her third victory over the past two seasons at the Resorters Tournament a year ago at Alexandria Golf Club, Hicks now eyes her 10th state championship title heading into Wednesday’s final round.

“The big thing out here is patience—you can hit a great shot and still have a really tough putt,” said Hicks. “Continuing to miss in the right spots is going to be key, and I need to continue hitting my driver well to set me up in the right places.”

Getting off to a steady start to her second round Tuesday, Welch carded eight pars and a chip-in birdie to move to even par for the championship before running into trouble during her inward nine.

Back-to-back bogeys at the 10th and 11th put Welch at 2-over for the tournament, and she would card a double-bogey at the par-3 13th.

Welch finished her day with consecutive pars to shoot 3-over 75 to finish two rounds of play tied with VanArragon at 4-over 148.

“I started out really strong—I grinded a lot because my one birdie was a chip-in,” the former Lakeville North High School standout said Tuesday. “I made a couple long par putts and fell apart for a couple of holes on the back.

“The pin positions were tough, so three-putts were happening out there. I tried not let it get to my head, and I was able to make some pars coming in. My short game kept me in it today—it could’ve been worse than it was. Putting and chipping really saved me.”

Welch, a senior at Xavier University, is in search of her fourth state victory, and first since she teamed with former NDSU golfer Jack Johnson to win the MGA Mixed Amateur Team Championship in 2021 at Pebble Creek Golf Course.

“You’ve got to know where to put the ball on the green,” Welch said, looking ahead to Wednesday’s final round. “If you can leave yourself with uphill putts, you’ll be able to make par. Par is a good score out here. All I’m trying to do is hit the fairway and make two-putt pars.”

VanArragon, who claimed her second win at the championship a year ago with a one-stroke victory over Welch at Baker National Golf Course, got off to a bumpy start Tuesday by carding a pair of birdies against four bogeys to slip to 4-over for the championship.

The St. Thomas University sophomore found more consistency during her back nine by rolling in her birdie opportunity at the 10th before giving back a stroke with a three-putt bogey at the 13th.

Following a double-bogey at the par-4 16th, VanArragon finished strong by rolling in her birdie opportunity from 10 feet at the 18th to card a 3-over 75 to earn a share of second with Welch at 148.

Olivia Herrick, a two-time champion, carded the second-best round of the championship through 36 holes Tuesday, firing an even par 72 to finish the first two rounds of play in 7-over 151.

Winner of back-to-back championships in 2009 and 2010, Herrick rolled in an early birdie putt on her front nine Tuesday, and would finish the day at even par following a bogey at the par-4 16th.

The final round of the 2024 MGA Women’s Amateur Championship will begin at 8:20 a.m. Wednesday at Minnewaska Golf Club.