Sisters knock off medalist and No. 3 seed

By Al Edenloff Alexandria Echo Press

The Olsen sisters, Mackayla and MacKenzie, pulled off two big upsets in the Resorters Women’s Championship Wednesday.

Mackayla, the 16th seed, defeated the No. 1 seed, Mckenzee Sullivan, the division’s medalist, in 19 holes. A twist to the upset: Mackayla never led in the match until that very last hole.

Meanwhile, MacKenzie, the 14th seed, eliminated the No. 3 seed, Lauren Contreras, 2-up.

The other six matches in the division were won by the highest seeds.

Here’s a look back at yesterday’s opening round action:

Mackayla Olsen def. Sullivan, 19 holes

The match started off as expected. Sullivan, who shot even-par during qualifying, won the first three holes with two pars and a birdie. Olsen took the fourth hole with a par and then pulled to within one with a birdie on the par-5 No. 6.

Olsen tied the match with a par win on No. 9 only to drop the next hole with a bogey. Sullivan took charge by winning No. 11 with a bogey and No. 12 with a birdie to go 3-up again.

After swapping pars on No. 13, Olsen kicked her game into high gear. She won 14 and 15 with birdies and deadlocked the match with a par win on the 16th hole. Both golfers settled for par on the final two holes in regulation, sending the match into overtime, where Olsen prevailed.

Herzog def. Catherine Monty, 19 holes

Not to be outdone, Madison Herzog and Catherine Monty staged a thriller of their own by taking the match into OT.

Herzog, the No. 8 seed, never trailed in the duel against the No. 9 seed, Catherine Monty.

Herzog won the first hole with a par and then added an eagle on No. 3 to go 2-up. Monty won her first hole, No. 5, with a birdie but lost the next hole to Herzog’s par on No. 6. After matching pars on the next two holes, Herzog took her biggest lead of the day with a par on No. 9 that pushed her to 3-up.

After they crossed under the road to No. 10, Monty turned the tables, winning Nos. 10 (par), 12 (birdie), and 13 (birdie) to tie the match. Herzog took the 15th hole with a birdie to regain the lead, but it was fleeting. Monty won the next hole with a birdie to tie it. Both golfers made par on the next two holes, setting up overtime. Herzog emerged as the winner and will now face Mackayla Olsen.

Larson def. Klick, 2-1

Cora Larson trailed most of the match against Lauren Klick, but she flipped things around on the last three holes to steal a victory.

Klick dominated the front nine, winning Nos. 2, 4, 8, and 9 and holding Larson to just a pair of wins on Nos. 5 and 6.

Leading by two at the turn, Klick put the pressure on by winning No. 10 to go 3-up, a lead that Larson couldn’t dent on the next two holes. Trailing by three with six holes remaining, Larson launched a comeback, taking No. 13, 14, and 15 to tie the match.

Larson moved into the lead for the first time with a birdie on the 16th hole. On the par-3 17th, Larson made par, beating Klick’s bogey and icing a 2-1 win.

Caroline Monty def.

O’Donnell, 4-2

This was a tight match through the first 13 holes. Caroline Monty took the early lead with a par on No. 1, but she bogeyed Nos. 3 and 4, which Lexi O’Donnell took advantage of to go 1-up. O’Donnell added a birdie win on the next hole to go 2-up, but Monty battled back, winning No. 6 with birdie and No. 7 with a par to draw even and then taking the 9th hole with a par to go 1-up at the turn.

O’Donnell tied the match with a par on No. 11, but Monty won No. 12 with a par to regain the lead. After matching pars on No. 13, Monty made her move, winning No. 14 with par, No. 15 with a birdie and No. 16 with a birdie to seal the deal, 4-2.

Boraas def. Woodhull, 5-3

Hannah Boraas, the defending champion, kept her repeat chances intact with a 5-3 victory over Amanda Woodhull.

Woodhull won the first hole with par, but that was about all she could muster against Boraas, who held a 2-up lead at the turn. Boraas made a key par on the late. Skaar birdied No. 14 to close the door, 5-3.

MacKenzie Olsen def. Contreras, 2-up

Olsen drew first blood with a par win on No. 1, but Contreras struck for a birdie on No. 3 to tie it and then jumped into the lead with a par win on the next hole. Olsen rallied to win No. 5 with a par to tie it. Olsen moved back into the lead with a par win on No. 7 and added a par win on No. 9 to go 2-up at the turn.

11th hole to go 3-up and added par wins on Nos. 13 and 15 to close out the victory.

Skaar def. Sommers, 5-4

Leah Skaar didn’t waste much time in her match against Samantha Sommers. She parred the first two holes to go 2-up. Sommers cut into the lead with a par on No. 4, but Skaar answered with a birdie on No. 5 to regain a two-hole lead. Both golfers halved the next two holes before Skaar nailed a birdie on No. 8 to go 3-up, a lead she held at the turn.

On the back nine, Skaar put the pressure on by notching a birdie on No. 11 to go 4-up and then all but wrapped up the win with a birdie on No. 12 to take a five-hole lead. Sommers made a birdie on the next hole, but it was too little too

Olsen won No. 10 and 11 to go up by four. Contreras wasn’t done yet, however. She fought back with wins on No. 12, 13, and 14 to draw to within one, but Olsen took No. 15 with a par to go 2-up and then matched Contreras’ bogey on No. 16 to close out the match.

Hicks def. Avery, 4-3

In the first three holes, Madi Hicks struck for two eagles, Nos. 1 and 3. Avery O’Donnell’s par on No. 2, however, won the hole, so she only trailed by one. O’Donnell tied the match with a birdie on No. 5 but dropped the next two holes with bogeys. Another O’Donnell bogey on No. 9 put Hicks 3-up at the turn.

Hicks’ par win on No. 10 put her in the driver’s seat at 4-up. She matched O’Donnell’s pars on the next four holes. Bogeys by both golfers on No. 15 ended the match.

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Sullivan earns Women’s division medalist honors with 4 birdies on the back

By Al Edenloff aedenloff@echopress.com

It took McKenzee Sullivan a few holes to settle in but she rallied on the back nine to notch an even-par 73 to win medalist honors in the Women’s Championship Division Monday.

Sullivan, a 17-yearold from Florida competing in her third Resorters Tournament, ran into some bogey troubles early on – Nos.

1, 4 and 9 – but made par on the other six holes on the front to go 3-over after nine.

She found her rhythm after that, parring Nos. 10 and 11 and then made her first birdie on par-5 No. 12.

Sullivan parred the short No. 13 and then struck for another birdie on the 14th hole to go 1-over-par. She had to settle for a bogey on No. 15 but then made backto-back birdies on the next two holes to get back to even-par. She was able to make par on No. 18 to nail down her medalist round.

Right behind her in the qualifying round was Lauren Contreras, who was 1-over-par for the day, and Alexan- dria’s Cora Larson who was 2-over.

Sullivan’s par day was three strokes behind last year’s pace when Emma Carpenter’s 3-under par took medalist honors.