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By Chris Lang
CROZET – As she looked to finally break through at a Virginia State Golf Association Junior Girls’ Championship, Danielle Suh focused inward. Her goal was to eliminate distractions, ignore what others were doing and just concentrate on what she needed to do to find success.
And she meant it. She barely noticed when on the second hole of a playoff Tuesday at Old Trail Golf Club, Victoria Tip-Aucha’s approach to the 18th green went severely astray. Suh’s only focus was hitting the green in regulation to give herself a chance at victory.
She did just that, and a two-putt par secured the win on the second playoff hole, giving Suh her first title in the event. In the process, she defeated one of her best friends and a two-time Junior Girls’ champion.
It was the last run for both players in this championship. Herndon’s Suh will begin her college career at High Point University next month, and Tip-Aucha—of Vienna by way of Thailand—will head to State College to begin her Penn State career next month.
Suh (VSGA uClub Fairfax) posted rounds of 65 and 67 for a two-day, 10-under-par 132 to earn her spot in the playoff. Tip-Aucha (VSGA Junior Golf Circuit) recorded a second straight 66 to join Suh.
They finished three shots clear of first-round co-leader Amber Mackiewicz of Virginia Beach, who shot 65-70—135. Bristow’s Isabel Bae shot a second-round 67 to finish fourth at 136, and Midlothian’s Tatum Walsh—who won last week’s VSGA Women’s Amateur Championship—returned 69 Tuesday for a two-day 137 to finish fifth.
Tip-Aucha moved into a tie atop the leaderboard when she made birdie on the par-3 15th. Suh made par on that hole, and the two competitors parred out to set the stage for the playoff. Each missed medium length birdie putts on the first playoff hole (No. 17). Each found the fairway on the second playoff hole, No. 18.
Tip-Aucha was first to hit, and her approach was left from the start. It hit the cartpath near the scoring area and bounded through a convoy of carts and onto the brick patio near the clubhouse before settling in the grass short of the parking lot. The ball was still in bounds and playable, but Tip-Aucha’s pitch shot to the green came up short.
“I hit the same club that I hit on 18 (during the regulation round),” Tip-Aucha said. “But I hooked it a little bit. I was a bit tired, too. … I saw it bounce over the carts, so I kind of expected it. I’m just glad it was in the grass and I had a chance.”
Suh said she had no idea where Tip-Aucha’s ball had gone. She was too worried about battling some light nerves to reach the green on the par-4 hole in two. Suh’s approach settled about 18 feet behind the hole, meaning Tip-Aucha would essentially have to jar her fourth shot from off the green to extend the playoff. Her pitch went long, and Suh two putted to clinch the win.
“I realized I can’t control how other people play,” Suh said. “I really didn’t see it. I was just looking at the pin, focusing on my second shot.”
Suh finished third in this event last year and has generally been in contention in the Junior Girls’, Women’s Stroke Play and Women’s Amateur championships. Tuesday’s victory represented a significant breakthrough in a state-level event.
“It feels really great,” Suh said. “I’m really excited I won this tournament. It will give me a lot of confidence going into the college season. She’s a great player, so this is a great win.”
Tip-Aucha won the 16-18 age-group title (the overall champion cannot also be age group champion). Mackiewicz, a rising sophomore at Bayside High School, earned the 14-15 age-group title, while Great Falls’ Catherine Qiu shot 71-74—145 to win the 13-and-under title.
Chris Lang is the VSGA’s manager of media and communications.