High school girls golf: Park City edges Juan Diego in playoff to win its first-ever state championship

Park City’s first-ever state girls golf championship was so sweet at Glendale Golf Course in Salt Lake City on Thursday that the Miners got to celebrate it twice, with a whole lot of nervousness in between.

“An emotional roller coaster,” said Park City girls golf coach George Murphy after noting how the program has been the bridesmaid but never the bride with eight second-place finishes since girls golf became its own UHSAA-sponsored sport in 2008.

Until now.

To win the team title, Park City had to beat runner-up Juan Diego in a one-hole playoff — the Par 4 10th hole at Glendale — with a four-player aggregate score of 18.

The Soaring Eagle shot a 21, as a couple of players hit approaches over the green and Park City’s Eleanor Henderson, Chloe Aldous, Madeline Hadar and Ava Miller were solid tee to green.

Meanwhile, Crimson Cliffs senior Kate Walker got to celebrate for a third time, as the Utah Tech-bound star won medalist honors for the third time in four years, carding a two-round total of 8-under 136 to win top honors by nine shots over Orem’s Kaylee Westfall.

“I am proud of myself for working hard, coming back from last year (when she was second) after a car crash (in which she fractured a pinky finger) two weeks before the state tournament,” Walker said.

With the course set up a little more difficult on Thursday than on Wednesday when she also fired a 68, Walker said she never counted her chickens until that final putt dropped for another stellar 4-under round.

“It may seem like I had a big cushion, but in your mind it is never over until it is over,” she said. “I got a little frustrated because I made a couple of bogeys.”

Walker won’t have much time to celebrate; She’s entered in an Utah Junior Golf Association event the next two days at TalonsCove GC in Saratoga Springs.

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As for the Miners, they planned to hit a restaurant in Park City to celebrate the historic win — for a third time.

Why three?

The first celebration came after an official announced they had won in regulation by a couple strokes over Juan Diego not long after the final grouping — Walker, Juan Diego’s Ave Werner and Park City’s Henderson finished up on the 18th green.

However, officials quickly discovered there was an error inputting some of the individual scores and that the teams had really tied for first at 89-over 665. There was a bunch of confusion because one of the teams had sisters and one sister’s scores were posted twice.

So once they got that all figured out, Murphy gathered his group and told them they would just have to go out and win it outright, which they did.

“As soon as they said (a playoff) was possible, I said, ‘OK, let’s get locked in,’” Murphy said. “It feels awesome. … We’ve been so close. We ran up against Desert Hills for so long, and they were just snaking us, and we came up short.”

Not on Thursday.

“Our depth was the difference,” Murphy said.

Leading the way was Aldous, a senior who put together an 81, followed by an 83, to finish in ninth place.

“She had her best two rounds of the season,” Munpy said,”so that was special to see.”

Henderson, a freshman, placed fourth individually with a 13-over 157.

“She was kind of the glue that kept us all together today, but it was a team effort,” Murphy said.

Hadar and Miller tied for 17th, while junior Riley Hastings added a non-counting 90, improving by six shots the second day.

Murphy predicted that it won’t take Park City many more years to add another trophy, as Aldous is the only team member graduating later this month.

“Right now, our streak is one in a row,” he said. “We should be back. We got a strong team coming back, but so does Juan Diego. Credit to them for a great tournament.”

One that really wasn’t over — until it was.

4A Girls Golf State Tournament

At Glendale Golf Course, SLC

Final Team Scores

665 — Park City (329-336)

665 — Juan Diego (332-333)

669 — Orem (339-330)

677 — Crimson Cliffs (337-340)

692 — Pine View (355-337)

707 — Timpanogos (364-343)

708 — Highland (360-348)

720 — Green Canyon (358-362)

724 — Dixie (369-355)

734 — East (366-368)

Final Individual Results (Top 20)

136 — Kate Walker, Crimson Cliffs (68-68)

145 — Kaylee Westfall, Orem (71-74)

147 — Brynlee Welch, Crimson Cliffs (73-74)

157 — Eleanor Henderson, Park City (78-79)

160 — Piper Burgess, Dixie (82-78)

162 — Emma Hills, Orem (85-77), Ava Werner, Juan Diego (80-82)

163 — Molli Mulhall, Pine View (87-76)

164 — Chloe Aldus, Park City (81-83)

165 — Zoe Bystrov, Highland (86-79)

166 — Sabrina Macias, Juan Diego (85-81)

167 — Renna McMullin, Green Canyon (84-83), Isabella Werner, Juan Diego (82-85)

169 — Callie Magleby, Timpanogos (85-84)

171 — Nicole Nelson, Cottonwood (89-82), Ava Feser, Sky View (86-85)

172 — Madeline Hadar, Park City (87-85), Alexis Burt, Juan Diego (85-87), Ava Miller, Park City (83-89)

173 — Amelia Swenson-Pruss, Highland (88-85)