REDFORD – Sarah Shipley of Hastings said she
stayed level-headed.
The 20-year-old
University of Kentucky golfer also shot level-par 72 for the second consecutive
day Tuesday at Western Golf & Country Club to win medalist honors in the
stroke play qualifying portion of the 102nd Michigan Women’s Amateur
Championship presented by Carl’s Golfland.
“I felt pretty
comfortable and confident going into today,” she said. “I like the golf course.
The greens are tough, and I feel like for me a lot of the (tee shots) set up
for a fade. At least that is what I saw, and so I hit a fade on most of them. I
normally hit a draw off the tee, but I can fade it when I need to and feel
comfortable doing it. I feel that’s an advantage to be able to do that.”
Her 144 total for
two days gave her a three-shot advantage on the first-round leader Katie
Chipman of Canton, a Grand Valley State University golfer who shot 77 for 147.
Chipman was the runner-up last year to Aya Johnson, who Tuesday tied for ninth
at 154 and earned the No. 10 seed.
Elayna Bowser of
Dearborn, a Loyola University of Chicago golfer, shot 77 for 149 and the No. 3
seed.
Anna Kramer, a
University of Indianapolis golfer from Spring Lake, who shot 74, and Marshall
University golfer Kerrigan Parks of Flushing, who shot 75, were next at 151.
The cut to the low
32 scores fill out the match play bracket required an eight-golfer playoff at
164. Katie Mina Lee of Ann Arbor earned the final spot by making pars on the
first two playoff holes. It earned her the final spot, and she will meet
Shipley in the first match of the round of 32 Wednesday at 8 a.m.
Due to the weather
forecast for Thursday, tournament officials have decided two rounds of matches
will be played Wednesday instead of one – the rounds of 32 and 16. Matches
continue through Thursday and Friday to determine a champion.
Shipley’s last tournament win was a match play
event during her freshman year of college at the University of Michigan. She
loves the match play format.
“I really enjoy it,
and I play a lot more aggressive,” she said. “It’s either you do or you don’t
in that game.”
Shipley’s 72 in the
second round was aided by a chip-in for birdie on No. 10. She was happy to win
the medalist trophy and be the No. 1 seed, but said she is looking forward to
the rest of the week.
“I want to get the
other trophy this week, too, but I’m not going to think about it on the
course,” she said. “It’s a whole different game, and there is a long way to go.
It’s always the goal. What point is there of going into a tournament if you are
not trying to win it and believe you can. I believe I can, but I’m going to
think about each shot and stay in focus on each hole.”
Chipman, last year’s
runner-up to Aya Johnson of Muskegon, and whose opening 70 set the first-round
pace Monday, said she missed several birdie chances on the low side of the hole
in the second round 77.
“I felt like I had
the lines, but I didn’t have the speed,” she said. “My driver was also not what
it should be. I’ll forget about it and get ready for match play. The game
changes. I made it to the finals last year, and that gives me confidence.”
Among the 32 who
made it to match play are Western member Mara Mazzoni, and the three Harding sisters
from South Lyon – Elizabeth, Caroline and Priscilla.
– Greg Johnson, [email protected]