EAST LANSING – Byron Center’s Macie Elzinga had the Michigan Women’s Amateur Championship on her mind.
“It stung a lot last year, coming up short, and I was thinking about it all year long,” she said.
The sting is gone, and she can think about winning it now for years to come, especially since her name will go on the historic Patti Shook Boice Trophy as the champion of the 109th edition of the state championship presented by Carl’s Golfland at Eagle Eye Golf & Banquet Center.
The 19-year-old Bowling Green State University golfer outlasted 2019 champion Elayna Bowser of Dearborn 2 and 1 in the championship match Friday, a year removed from losing in the semifinals to eventual champion Shannon Kennedy of Beverly Hills and Michigan State University.
“I’m really happy I was able to come out here and actually accomplish what I was trying to do for a while,” she said. “It’s my biggest win by far. Last year kind of put it in my mind that it was possible, but I knew it was coming into this year, and I was just trying to take in one match at a time.”
With the win she also earned an exemption from the USGA into the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship later this summer at Bandon Dunes in Oregon.
“That’s pretty cool,” she said. “I’ve been to one (U.S. Girls’ Championship), but never the Women’s Championship, so I’m really excited for it. And it’s Bandon Dunes, so you have to be excited.”
Elzinga earned her way to the championship match with another 2 and 1 win, this one in the morning semifinal match against last year’s runner-up, Elise Fennell of Caledonia and Illinois State University. Bowser, meanwhile, topped Olivia Stoll of Haslett, the recent Grand Valley State University graduate and former golfer, 3 and 2.
In the championship match Elzinga and Bowser traded pars and 1-up leads in a tense battle. Things changed at No. 13, a long par 4 bordered by water on the right side.
Bowser, 1-up at the time, hit an approach shot well short of the green and made bogey, and with a par off a 210-yard 4-hybrid shot to the middle of the green Elzinga tied the match.
At the par 5 No. 14 Bowser hit a drive wide right into a deep grass bunker and played to another bogey while Elzinga made a sand-save par from the bunker in front of the green to go 1-up. Bowser missed the green from the rough at the par 4 No.15 hole, which resulted in another bogey. They both parred No. 16 and Elzinga took the 2-up lead to the island green par 3 No. 17 hole.
She needed just a par to tie and secured that with a shot to the middle of the green and a lag putt that settled close to the hole.
“I think the shot I hit into 13 was the best shot of the day,” she said. “That hole was wet and playing really long today. To get a win on a long hole like that, especially because I’m a shorter hitter, gave me momentum and I was able to win the next two holes in a row.”
Bowser, 28 and a real-estate agent, called it bad timing.
“I played my worst round of the week in the worst round to do that,” she said. “I just couldn’t get a birdie putt to go, and it was just pars out there until I made mistakes and she took advantage like you have to and got the lead. I got to the finals again and I lost to a good player. I feel good about that.”