First It's a State Title, Then It's On to the U.S. Junior Girls' Championship For Heck and Smith

USGA

  BLAINE, Minn. – Just 24 hours after shooting a final-round 68 to win her first Minnesota State Class AA individual title, Anni Heck carded an even par 71 Thursday at Victory Links Golf Course to earn medalist honors and qualify for the 2016 U.S. Girls’ Junior Amateur Championship.

A field of 25 players competed for three qualifying spots to this year’s championship, which will be played July 18-23 at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J.

While it’s the first national championship Heck has qualified for, she’s already established herself as one of the state’s best junior golfers.

Last year she won the Minnesota State Junior Girls’ Championship as well as the Minnesota Junior PGA Championship, which she also won in 2013 as a 14-year-old. She won the Minnesota Junior Players Tournament of Champions in 2014.

Starting on the back nine Thursday, Heck began with birdies at the 12th and 14th holes to quickly move to 2-under for the round before taking bogey at the 15th.

She would draw even with a second bogey on the first hole before carding her third birdie at the par-4 third. Heck would finish her round at even par 71 following a bogey at the 170-yard fourth hole.

Garbriela Ruffels, Laguna Niguel, Calif., and Jessica Lee, Oak Brook, Ill., claimed the final two qualifying spots Thursday as both carded rounds of 2-over par 73.

Madelyn Hawkins, Dubuque, Iowa, and Kate Lillie, St. Charles, Ill., finished as first and second alternates, respectively.

As for fellow 2016 Class AA co-champion Kate Smith, she carded a 3-over par 75 Thursday at Fargo Country Club earning medalist honors to also qualify for the 2016 U.S. Junior Girls' Championship.

Smith, Detroit Lakes, Minn., finished two shots better than two Canadian golfers, Bobbi Uhl, who shot 77, and Camryn Roadley, who claimed the final spot with a 78.