Preston Tops Hershberger At Women's Amateur

By Rick Woelfel

Battle of 17 Year-Olds for Top Women’s Title

Scotland Preston aced her final exam. After a grueling week of golf, the Governor Livingston High School senior answered the challenges posed by a determined opponent and a celebrated golf course architect to win the 86th edition of the New Jersey State Golf Association Women’s Amateur Championship. Preston, who plays out of Echo Lake Country Club, defeated close friend and rival Alexandra Hershberger from Twin Brooks Country Club, 4 and 3, in the championship match at Hackensack Golf Club on August 5th.

The 17-year-old Preston also captured the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Tournament of Champions this spring. Yet competing in the state women’s title forced her to take her game to another level. After earning the second seed for match play with a one-under par 73 in stroke play qualifying, she ran a gauntlet of four matches in three days, including the 36-hole final. Along the way, she defeated Karen Bouloucon of Crystal Springs, a two-time finalist in this event, 3 and 2 in the quarterfinals. “Stamina is definitely a big point,” Preston said. “Thirty-six holes two days in a row is tough.”

The 17-year-old Hershberger, who played for the girls’ NJSIAA championship team at Ridge High in Basking Ridge last spring, shot a 77 in qualifying to earn the fourth seed for match play. Her most impressive win prior to the finals was a 3 and 2 decision in the quarterfinals over the reigning Garden State Women’s Stroke Play champion, Alicia Kapheim of Hopewell Valley.

Hershberger got off to a fast start in the championship match by converting a 10-foot birdie chance at the short par-5 second hole. Preston responded with a 12-foot birdie putt of her own at the par-3 third to square the match; she would never trail again.

At the 373-yard par-4 fourth, both players received a lesson on the bunkering challenges of Charles “Steamshovel” Banks, the architect who designed Hackensack in 1929; Preston wound up winning the hole with bogey. Hershberger had another bunker-related adventure when her tee shot at the 142-yard par-3 sixth flew the green and wound up against the back lip of a bunker. She was forced to take an unplayable lie and lost the hole.

Bunker play helped separate the two contestants. Preston was hitting first from the fairway for most of the match, but her proficiency in the sand helped her overcome Hershberger’s advantage off the tee. At the par-4 11th, Preston was in a greenside bunker 70 feet from the flagstick but put her bunker shot 18 inches from the cup and made the par putt to halve the hole. “That was really key,” she said. “It kept her from winning the hole.” At the 439-yard par-5 15th, she put her second shot in a fairway bunker but hit her approach to 12 feet and once more halved the hole with a par.

Preston’s shot of the morning, however, came with a hybrid from the fairway at the ultra-short par-5 16th (384 yards) that wound up just three feet from the cup; the hole was halved with eagle threes. Preston’s putter served her effectively as well; she recorded three birdies during the morning round in addition to her eagle. “I’ve really worked on my putting,” she said.

At lunchtime Preston was 4-up after taking a turn around Hackensack in the equivalent of 1-under par 73. The golf course was set up to play 5,906 yards for the event with a par of 74, although two of the par 5s measured 406 yards or less.

Hershberger trailed by as many as five holes in the afternoon. She cut the deficit to three holes on four occasions, but each time she won a hole, Preston responded by winning the next one.

Hershberger’s last big stand came when she was 3 down standing on the tee at the par-5 tenth, the 26th hole of the match, before she pushed her tee shot into trees on the right, then hit a provisional ball into roughly the same spot. The first ball was found, but Hershberger lost the hole and wound up winning just one more. Her putter failed her at several key points during the afternoon. “I made a few putts,” Hershberger said. “I used to not be a very good putter, and this week showed that I’ve been taking strides, but the three putts are holding me back so I know I have to work on that.”

Preston says the win boosts her confidence and reinforces the idea that she’s doing the right things. “It lets me know I played well,” she said. “I have confidence in my game after having played well all week.”

Both finalists have made verbal commitments to colleges. Preston will head to Kansas State in the fall of 2012 while Hershberger will enroll at Virginia. Both of Preston’s parents were in the gallery. Her father, Mike, is the longtime head professional at Echo Lake. Hershberger’s mother, who at one time played for the Swedish national team, was on her bag.

Christine Kim of Pinch Brook defeated Jill Boughrum of Beacon Hill, 2 up, in an 18-hole match to win the second flight. Two-time NJSGA Women’s Public Links champion Kristina Wagner from Mattawang scored a 3 and 2 victory over Jaclyn Clifton of Hominy Hill to win the third flight.

The Women’s Amateur Championship was first conducted in 1923. With last year’s winner, Kuriko Tsukiyama, unavailable to defend, there were no past champions in this year’s field. The event moves to Crestmont Country Club next year.

View the full match play brackets here:
Championship Flight
Second Flight
Third Flight