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Girls Golf: New Trier grad Szokol top amateur golfer in the state
Elizabeth Szokol, of Winnetka, pockets her golf ball after sinking a putt during the championship match of the Illinois Women's Golf Association State Amateur championship at Ravisloe Country Club in Homewood. | Matt Marton~Sun-Times Media
Updated: July 22, 2012 7:59PM
Elizabeth Szokol applied her stamp as one of the best players in the state by winning her first Illinois State Women’s Amateur championship last week at Ravisloe Country Club.
A recent New Trier graduate and Northwestern recruit, Szokol beat future Big Ten rival Michelle Mayer 4-and-3 in the Friday final. A Homewood-Flossmoor graduate, Mayer will be a sophomore at Illinois.
“This is definitely one of my bigger tournament wins,” said Szokol, who tied for seventh at the IHSA state tournament as a senior. “There were college players here, and there was a lot of tough competition.
“This definitely is a confidence-booster for me. I feel good about the rest of the summer and going into the fall.”
Szokol lost the first hole in Homewood on Friday, but she evened the match with a birdie of her own on No. 2 and never looked back.
“That birdie and then a par save on the third really got my momentum going,” she said. “I felt right then I could do well.”
Szokol was the tournament medalist after shooting a 2-over 72 to earn the top seed for match play, where she didn’t need more than 16 holes to beat her opponents.
Szokol upended Colleen Mahoney 3-and-2 and Tiffany Wolf 5-and-4 to advance to the quarterfinals, where she whipped Kaitlyn Wampler 6-and-5.
Szokol earned her spot in the final by clipping Kristi Tschudin 3-and-2.
To better prepare herself for college golf, Szokol stepped up her schedule this summer. She’s playing at the Women’s Western Amateur this week at the Monroe Golf & Country Club, in the Detroit area. She’s also shooting to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Amateur this summer.
“I am looking forward to the competition this summer, and I am excited for the fall,” she said.
Already a long hitter off the tee to go with solid iron play, Szokol is concentrating on her irons, which will aid her scoring at the next level.
“I am working on everything, but the short game is so important,” she said. “I am getting better every day with a lot of practice and hard work.”
