Burnham Maintains Slim Lead at Women's State Amateur; Ciskowski Surges with a 69

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By Nick Hunter
nhunter@mngolf.org


  LAKEVILLE, Minn. – Having never broken 70 during her golf career, University of Minnesota golfer Heather Ciskowski picked an opportune time to do it Tuesday as she jumped up the leaderboard during the second round of the 2016 Minnesota Women’s State Amateur Championship.

Rolling in three birdies with one bogey Tuesday, Ciskowski’s 69 put her alone in second place and just one shot behind Sarah Burnham heading into Wednesday’s final round.

“I’ve always been a pretty consistent 70 to 75,” Ciskowski said Tuesday. “A 69 is a really good score but I didn’t feel like I was super low.

“Today I was able to make a bunch of putts and played smart,” she said. “There are a lot of opportunities to take drive if you’re a long hitter, but I had a tendency to take a 3-wood and play it safe. I was consistent off the tee and into greens. I’ve been placing the ball on the green in some good spot.”

Ciskowski, a native of Barrington, Ill., opened with a 4-over par 75 during Monday’s first round and would start the second would with six consecutive pars before hitting her 5-iron inside of one foot for a tap-in birdie to move to 3-over for the championship.

Her only blemish on the scorecard came at the par-3 12th, but she answered by rolling in an uphill birdie putt from six feet on the ensuing hole. Finishing on a high note Tuesday, Ciskowski put her approach from 94 yards inside of two feet for another kick-in birdie to shoot 69 for the first time and now sits one shot off the lead with 18 holes to play.

“I want to win coming into any golf tournament, but I just want to play my best and try to evaluate where my game is before the season,” she said. “The plan for tomorrow is to shoot the lowest score I can and win.”

The good news for Burnham is that she still holds a one-shot advantage heading into the final round Wednesday, more than enough for one of the state’s top players with 10 state titles over the last three seasons.

The bad news are the high numbers that have plagued the soon-to-be junior at Michigan State University during her last two events. Burnham carded two uncharacteristic double-bogeys during the opening round of the Minnesota Women’s State Open a week ago at Indian Hills Golf Club and wrote a triple-bogey on the scorecard during the final round to finish in sixth place, only three shots back.

Failing to get up-and-down for par after missing the fifth green right, Burnham answered by sticking her approach at the sixth inside of five feet and converted birdie.

Burnham drilled her 15-footer from the right fringe at the eighth to move to even for the championship and made a great birdie after pulling her second at the par-5 14th into the rough left of the green. Her third landed inside of five feet and she would roll her third birdie of the day. 

After building a four-shot lead at one point during the second round Tuesday at Brackett’s Crossing, Burnham limped to the finish line by taking a double-bogey on the final hole to shoot an even par 71 after a solid 17 holes previously.

“I played well but I didn’t finish well,” a frustrated Burnham said Tuesday. “I was happy with how I hit the ball and how I chipped the ball, except on the last hole. I bladed it over the green and then I chunked it. Those were my only mistakes of the day. Tomorrow hopefully I can hit those fairways, stick some pins and make some putts—that’s all you can really ask for.”

Leaving for East Lansing Friday, Burnham said a victory Wednesday would certainly give her a boost just before starting her junior season.

“I haven’t had the best summer so if I could get a win here it would give me some confidence before I start my school season.

Ciskowski’s teammate Emie Peronnin carded a 1-over par 72 Tuesday and will play in the final group Wednesday for Big Ten bragging rights featuring two Gophers and a Spartan set to square off.

The 2016 Minnesota Women's State Amateur Championship concludes Wednesday as the final round is scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m. at Brackett's Crossing Country Club.



2016 MINNESOTA WOMEN’S STATE AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
BRACKETT’S CROSSING COUNTRY CLUB
LAKEVILLE, MINN.
6,012 YARDS, PAR 71


TUESDAY’S RESULTS
1. Sarah Burnham, Rush Creek Golf Club, 72-71—143
2. Heather Ciskowski, University Golf Club, 75-69—144
3. Emie Peronnin, University Golf Club, 75-72—147
4. Olivia Herrick, Dellwood Country Club, 73-77—150
5. Anni Heck, Southview Country Club, 75-76—151
6. Sophia Yoemans, Mississippi Nat’l Golf Links, 76-77—153
7. Leigh Klasse, Keller Golf Club, 76-80—156
T8. Hannah Hankinson, Edina Country Club, 77-80—157
T8. Sabrine Garrison, University Golf Club, 81-76—157
T10. Maggie Heggerston, University Golf Club, 81-77—158
T10. Emily Israelson, Vintage at Staples, 82-76—158


For complete tournament results go to: www.mngolf.org/Tournament/45th_Minnesota_Womens_State_Amateur_Championship