The U.S. Girls’ Junior Golf Championship was an international affair.
With a field of 156 competitors, there were representatives from across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Colombia, Ecuador, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand and the Philippines.
And then there was Kiselya Plewe, representing her hometown of Cortez, Colorado.
The 2016 Montezuma-Cortez graduate qualified for the Junior Championship in June at Hidden Valley Country Club in Sandy, Utah. And she arrived in Paramus, New Jersey on Thursday, July 14 ready to challenge the collection of 17-and-under players for the title.
It was her first time in New Jersey and her first time seeing the course at The Ridgewood Country Club, which she said had really tough greens and pin positions that could easily cause trouble, but was in pristine condition.
“It’s in phenomenal shape,” she said. “I’ve probably never played at a golf course that is in that great of condition.”
After walking the course on Friday and playing a practice round on Saturday, Plewe was set to begin stroke play on Monday.
Starting on the front nine, Plewe hit bunkers on the first three holes and had a tough slog throughout the first round. She finished the first 18 holes without a birdie and with five bogeys and three double bogeys, and sat at 11 over par and in 110th place after day one.
“It was just a really tough start and it was kind of hard to get back into my groove,” she said. “I struggled pretty much that entire round until the end when I finally started making some things happen.”
After establishing a rhythm in the late stages of the first round, Plewe bounced back with a fantastic day two.
“With a bad score the first day I knew that I was going to have to make something crazy happen to make the cut,” she explained. “So I just went into the round thinking that I had nothing to lose and I just had to go for it.”
Starting on the back nine, Plewe opened with a birdie on a par three and followed it with two straight pars. And she continued to ride the momentum, saying that her second day included, “much better ball-striking, much better putting and just much better play overall.”
Plewe recorded two birdies, 12 pars and just four bogeys on the day to finish two over par and move all the way up to tied for 76th place.
“The first day I realized that it was a whole new level,” she said. “And the second day I proved that I could play at that level.”
Plewe finished with a cumulative score of 159 (+13), missing the cut by just three strokes, as the final qualifier slid in with a 156 (+10).
Although she narrowly missed qualifying for the round of 64, Plewe was delighted by the experience.
“It was probably the coolest experience I’ve had with golf,” she said. “It was just amazing being there, the course was phenomenal, the clubhouse was awesome and they treated the players like we were royalty. I felt like just being there I’d already accomplished something. It was just a phenomenal opportunity.”
Surprisingly, Plewe may have another opportunity to compete for the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship.
Last week, the United States Golf Association announced eligibility changes for the Junior Championships that will take effect in 2017.
The maximum age for this year’s event was 17, so Plewe, 17, was at the top of the age limit.
However, starting in 2017, the maximum age for competitors will be bumped up to 18 – meaning Plewe will have one more shot at the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship, held next year at Boone Valley Golf Club in Augusta, Missouri.
“I’m definitely going to try to get back there and make the cut and go further,” said Plewe. “It was just a really cool experience and a great tournament.”