Lynch and Reineke Rally With a Final-Round 69 to Win MGA Women's Four-Ball

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  LE SUEUR, Minn. – Firing the low round of the championship during Tuesday’s final round, University of St. Thomas teammates Isabelle Lynch and Nicole Reineke combined to card a 4-under 69 at Le Sueur Country Club to earn a three-stroke victory at the 2024 Minnesota Golf Association Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship.

Lynch and Reineke trailed by one stroke to fellow Tommies and defending champions Emma Davies and Katie Foley entering the final round Tuesday, and would tally a total of six birdies to come from behind by shooting a 6-under 140.

“It’s been a good season—definitely had its ups and downs,” said Reineke, who claimed her second win of the season Tuesday. “This one means a lot and I think it was fun to have St. Thomas finish first and second this week.”

“This a tournament where you can focus on having a little more fun and enjoy the game instead of being serious and competitive,” Lynch said. “I had a blast with one of my best friends and it was a fun week.”

Even through their first five holes Tuesday, Reineke started the scoring by converting her birdie chance at the par-5 fifth before rolling in another birdie chance from four feet at the ninth to reach 4-under for the championship to join Davies and Foley atop the leaderboard.

Lynch and Reineke relinquished the lead following their only bogey of the final round at the 11th, but both came surging back with short birdie chances on the ensuing hole to regain a share of the lead at 4-under.

Taking control of the tournament at the par-4 14th, Reinked dropped her birdie chance from 15 feet to take a two-stroke lead following a Davies and Foley bogey.

Reineke chipped to a foot at the 16th to tap in one final birdie, helping her and Lynch card a final-round 69 to claim a three-stroke victory with a 36-hole tally of 6-under 140.

“We weren’t trying to think about [the leaderboard] too much, we just wanted to go out and enjoy the round,” Reineke said. “We made a few more birdies and only had one hole that we didn’t play very well. We were very back-and-forth. We definitely changed our approach on a couple of holes off the tee and hit more fairways today, so there was less scrambling—less stressful.”

“[Reineke] got hot, and we did a better job of switching off on the bad holes. We helped each other out a little more than we did yesterday," Lynch said. "One stroke here or there isn’t that much during this tournament. The biggest key was not taking anything too seriously. We did a good job of not getting mad at each other–no fights."

Reineke continues her strong play this season, claiming her second win of the season after a victory at the MGA Women’s Amateur Match Play Championship at Hastings Golf Club last month.

Collecting the first state victory of her career Tuesday, Lynch puts an end to two consecutive runner-up finishes at the championship.

Lynch teamed with former Tommie teammate Courtney Wedin in 2022 at Monticello Country Club, falling to eventual winners Camille Kuznik and Aayushi Sarkar by seven strokes before her and Wedin came up two shots short to Davies and Foley last season at Faribault golf club.

Since the start of the 2022 season, St. Thomas senior has now earned seven consecutive top-5 finishes at state championships.

Rolling in four birdies and an eagle during their opening round Monday, defending champions Emma Davies and Katie Foley where unable to find their collective stride Tuesday, converting one birdie chance at the ninth before a bogey at the 14th set them back to 3-under for the tournament.

With four straight pars to finish the round, the two would combine for a final round 73 to finish three shots back at 3-under 143.

Last season, Davies chipped in for birdie on the final hole to help her and Foley two a two-stroke victory—the first state title for both.

Improving upon Day One’s score by a stroke during Tuesday’s final round, Bella Leonhart and partner Lily Vincelli posted a 1-under 72 to finish in third place at 1-under 145.