Marah Penn Posts Even Par 73 to Claim Girls' Title
Greece, NY - Marah Penn, a Hamburg native who plays out of Crag Burn Golf Club, posted an even par 73 in the final round to win the 2014 N.Y.S. Junior Girls’ Amateur Championship.
Penn began the second and final round on Wednesday tied for third place, three strokes behind the first round leader Chelsea Dantonio. Starting her round on the back nine at Ridgemont, Penn made par on 10, then birdied 11 and 12 to get to 2-under on her round. She then bogeyed 13 and 14 to get back to even, but sandwiched a birdie in-between pars on her way in to make the turn in 36, 1-under par for her round and 2-over for the championship.
Meanwhile Dantonio, who also started on 10, struggled early. She made bogey on 11, 13, 14 and 15 to fall to 4-over for the championship. She would birdie 16 to get it back to 3-over, and make the turn in 40, 1-stroke behind Penn who was at 2-over.
Penn parred one and two, but would bogey two of the most difficult holes on the course, the 314 yard dog leg right par-4 third and the 150 yard par-3 fourth. On the fifth tee, she was now 4-over for the championship.
Behind her in the lead group Dantonio was making up ground. She birdied the second to get her round back to 2-over, and made par on three and four. Through 13 holes, she held a two stroke lead over Penn.
On five, her 14th hole, Penn shook off the two earlier bogeys with a par. She would par six, seven, and eight, putting her still at 4-over for the championship heading into her last hole, the 442 yard par-5 ninth. A birdie on the last gave her an even par round of 73, 3-over for the championship.
Penn’s strong finish was good enough to win as Dantonio struggled on her final five holes, posting three bogeys and two pars for a 5-over 78, which put her at 5-over for the championship and two behind Penn. Tied for second with Dantonio was Lewiston’s Maren Cipolla, who finished her second round with a 3-over 76.
