VanArragon and NDSU's Bennion Share Early Lead at MGA Women's Amateur in St. Paul

• 2019 MGA Women's Amateur Round 3
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• 2019 MGA Women's Amateur Round 1

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By Nick Hunter
nick@mngolf.org
 
 
  ST. PAUL, Minn. – Coming off a victory at the North Dakota Women’s State Amateur Championship a week ago, North Dakota State University golfer Sierra Bennion carried that momentum into Tuesday’s opening round of the 2019 Minnesota Golf Association Women’s Amateur Championship by carding a 2-over par 75 at Town and Country Club to earn a share of the first-round lead with Kathryn VanArragon.
 
Bennion closed with a final-round 67 despite a sluggish putter during the championship last week at King’s Walk Golf Course in Grand Forks, N.D., before finding her rhythm on the putting surface Tuesday in St. Paul.
 
“Last week I played well, but didn’t putt well,” Bennion said following her round Tuesday. “Today I played okay and putted well, so that kind of makes up for it. I’m hoping tomorrow I can get it to all come together. The greens at our course at home are tough, so I was hoping to come in and get the speeds of these greens.”
 
Carding three straight bogeys to open her round Tuesday, Bennion thought her mental game was in need of a quick change.
 
“I was so focused on the overall picture and I told myself to play shot-by-shot and things started clicking a little bit,” she said.
 
Bennion, 21, from Jamestown, N.D., quickly turned things around by sticking her approach to 10 feet at the par-5 fourth hole, rolling in birdie to minimize the damage before giving back a shot with a bogey at the sixth. She quickly bounced back by sinking back-to-back birdie chances from six feet at the seventh and eighth holes to turn in 1-over.
 
Playing a steady final nine, the soon-to-be senior for the Bison three-putted for bogey on the final hole to finish the opening round with a share of the lead at 2-over 75.
 
“Putting was the key because I made some good saves today, especially on nine,” Bennion said. “As long you’re hitting fairways and putting well, you’ll be fine on this course. The greens can be tricky and there were some tough spots, so getting off the tee and putting yourself in the right spots. Putting well helped a lot.”
 
VanArragon, became one of the youngest players to win the Class AAA individual title last June, when she cruised to a three-stroke victory to close out her first year of varsity golf for Blaine High School as a seventh-grader.
 
Since then she’s notched three more top-5 finishes at state events, including her third-place finish two weeks ago at the Minnesota State Junior Girls’ Championship at Valleywood Golf Course.
 
On Tuesday, VanArragon carded a birdie and two bogeys during her opening nine before getting some help from her putter over the final nine holes, dropping a 15-footer for birdie at the 11^th and rolling in her birdie look from 20 feet at the 12^th to get back to even for the day.
 
A pair of bogeys on the final two holes would put VanArragon into a share of the clubhouse lead with a round of 2-over par 75.
 
“I felt like my irons today were solid. I had a couple bad drives, but my putting was also something I could really lean on,” VanArragon said Tuesday. “I had some good par putts and par saves that really kept the momentum going today.”
 
“The mental side today was good. I had my brother [Caleb] caddying for me today and he was able to keep me calm after a couple bogeys and some bad putts early on. I learned today to always keep the ball below the hole. A lot of these greens are sloped hard back-to-front and they’re really fast, so it’s important to keep the ball below the hole.”
 
University of Nebraska golfer and 2017 champion Kate Smith posted a 3-over 76 Tuesday to finish in a tie for third with Alexa Hanson, one shot off the lead following the opening round of play, while defending champion Taylor Ledwein’s opening-round 77 put her into a tie for fifth with Alyssa Akiyama.
 
The 2019 MGA Women’s Amateur Championship continues Wednesday when the second round begins at 7:30 a.m. at Town and Country Club.