Ingrid Monaghan was crowned H-DNL champion in girls golf after the most clutch performance of her young career at Baywood Golf and Country Club on Monday.
The McKinleyville senior shot a 95 in the biggest round of her life to overcome a one-stroke deficit and a mountain of momentum going against her in the seventh and final round of league play.
A few weeks ago, she appeared to be cruising to a league championship after placing first in each of the first three H-DNL events and opening up a 10-stroke advantage in the season standings.
But a late surge by Del Norte junior Jaylee Keeling catapulted her right back into contention, and she carried a one-stroke lead and plenty of momentum into the final round.
Monaghan, however, answered the call in style, overcoming any nerves and displaying a mental strength needed to succeed in the sport.
She cruised to an 11-stroke victory at Baywood and took the league title by an impressive 14 strokes.
“The last three rounds she just struggled a little mentally, which is the hardest part of golf,” McKinleyville head coach Phoebe Sundberg said of the senior team captain. “But we sat down and came up with a plan, and I was really, really proud of her for sticking with it.”
It was just the fifth time any of the league golfers broke 100 this season — three of them by Monaghan — and the second time she managed to do so at Baywood, where she clearly enjoys playing.
More importantly, it was an outstanding way to finish the regular season after almost seeing the championship slip away.
“She’s a great golfer, and she’s got a great swing, but the mental part is the hardest part,” Sundberg added. “The biggest thing yesterday, the best part of her game, was if she did put herself in trouble her recovery shots were great, and she didn’t let it affect her.”
Arcata’s Sabrina Macdonald had the second best round of the day, carding a 106, followed her teammate Quetzal Heacock, who was one stroke further back.
Keeling, who won two of the seven rounds of league competition, finished second on the season after tying Arcata’s Hailey Pepper and Sophia Spetzler and her Del Norte teammate Taylor Horner for the fourth best score on Monday with a round of 112.
Arcata finished with five golfers in the top nine in the season standings and comfortably took the team championship.
But the big story of the day was Monaghan and her clutch finish to her final regular season of high school golf.
But that’s not all he coach will remember about the likable senior star.
“She’s very friendly and she cares a lot about her teammates,” Sundberg said. “And she served as a mentor to her younger teammates. I’ve really enjoyed watching her grow, not only as a golfer but as a person.”
Arcata’s Stella Mielke also closed out league play strong, shooting a 115 to place eighth on Monday, with Eureka’s Matilda Ulrich (117) and McKinleyville’s Ava Sundberg (118) rounding out the top 10 scores on the day.
Monaghan’s combined season score was 598, followed by Keeling (612), Macdonald (640), Heacock (651), Pepper (666), Horner (676) and Del Norte’s Kalyssa Moodie (689), who made up the top seven and All-League spots.
Arcata finished league play with a combined team score of 3113, followed by De Norte (3234), McKinleyvillle (3384), Eureka (3653) and Fortuna (3744).
Zoie Thomsson led Fortuna on Monday with a round of 136.
