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Players to Watch in Vicki DiSantis Girls'
The Carolinas Golf Association’s girls’ championship season gets started for 2017 with the 12th Vicki DiSantis Girls’ Championship on May 13-14, 2017 at Pine Island Country Club in Charlotte, NC.
This is the tenth consecutive year the tournament has been hosted by Pine Island CC. All but one past champion has played Division I college golf, including: two-time champion Austin Ernst (LSU), Amber Littman (East Carolina), Megan Moore (East Carolina), Katherine Perry (North Carolina), Chelsey Couch (South Carolina) and Kelli Murphy (Auburn). 2013 champion Madison Moosa, 2015 champion Emily Cox and 2016 champion Gina Kim are still in high school, but will certainly continue the trend of past champions playing college golf at the highest level.
Inspired by a rolling piece of farmland in the mid-1960s, golf course architect Charles M. Mahannah created Pine Island CC’s course so that every golfer would enjoy the design. With the latest renovation direction by golf course architect Michael Gleason of Pinehurst, N.C. the course is one of the finest USGA-regulated courses in the region. Dramatic, architecturally sound and extremely innovative, this premier private course provides fun and challenging play for golfers of all ages and skill levels.
Here are 10 players to watch at this year’s Vicki DiSantis Girls’ Championship:
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Emily Hawkins of Lexington, N.C. Hawkins, a home-schooled junior, won two Carolinas Golf Junior championships (NC Junior & Carolinas Junior) and was named the Carolinas Junior Girls Player of the Year in 2016. Hawkins is currently ranked number two in N.C. and has verbally committed to play college golf at Campbell University.
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Gracyn Burgess of Lexington, S.C. Burgess a high school junior, is ranked number one in S.C. In 2016 Burgess Carolinas Golf Twin State Girls’ Championship along with Donald Ross Girls’, the SCJGA Tradition Four-Ball and tied for first in the Carolinas PGA Charles Tilghman Junior. Burgess has verbally committed to play college golf at Clemson.
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Natalie Petersen of Holly Springs, N.C. Petersen, a high school senior, won the last two Carolinas Golf Dogwood State Girls’ and Anderson Girls’ Invitational in 2016. Petersen will play college golf at Georgia Southern and is ranked number ten in N.C.
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Kathleen Sumner of Charleston, S.C. Sumner, a high school senior, finished tied for second in the 2016 Vicki DiSantis Girls. She also finished in second place in the Carolinas Golf Twin States, Carolinas Girls and the SCJGA Beth Daniel Junior Azalea. Sumner is currently ranked number two in S.C. and will begin her collegiate career this fall at Florida State.
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Rachel Kuehn of Asheville, N.C. Kuehn, a sophomore in high school, is ranked number 4 in N.C. In 2016, Kuehn won the NCISAA girls' state championship and finished tied for tenth the Vicki DiSantis Girls’. Kuehn has verbally committed to Wake Forest.
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Jodee Tindal of Rock Hill, S.C. Tindal, a high school senior, won the Carolinas PGA Junior Girls’ and finished in seventh in the WSCGA S.C. Women’s Amateur Championship in 2016. Tindal finished tied for tenth in last year’s Vicki DiSantis. Tindal will play collegiate golf for Mercer this coming fall.
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Kathryn Carson of Mooresville, N.C. Carson, a high school senior, is ranked number in N.C. Carson finished tied for fourth in the 2016 Vicki DiSantis Girls and was tied for second in the Twin State Girls’ Championship. Carson will play college golf for the Pirates of East Carolina.
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Anna Grace Brock of Greenwood, S.C. Brock, a sophomore in high school, was the runner-up in the 2016 Carolinas Golf S.C. Junior Match Play Championship. Brock is currently ranked number four in S.C.
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Haeley Wotnosky of Wake Forest, N.C. Wotnosky, a home schooled junior, is currently ranked number seven in N.C. Wotnosky has two top ten finishes in Carolinas Golf tournaments (Vicki DiSantis Girls’ and NC Junior Girls’) and competed in the US Junior Girls’ Amateur in 2016.
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Elle Johnson of Inman, S.C. Johnson, a high school sophomore, won the 2016 SCJGA Beth Daniel Junior Azalea along with winning the Phil Wallace Holiday Classic and the Henry Transou Memorial.
Others to watch at the Vicki DiSantis are Caroline Cahill of Wilmington, N.C.; Jensen Castle of West Columbia, S.C.; Emily Dunlap of Greenville, S.C.; Baylee Evans of Lancaster, S.C.; Taylor Hinson of Belmont, N.C.; Madison Isaacson of Greensboro, N.C.; Keri Kenkel of Charlotte, N.C.; Anna Morgan of Spartanburg, S.C.; Amanda Sambach of Davidson, N.C; Beth Ann Townsend of Greenville, S.C. and Katie Whitfield of Clemson, S.C.