St. Anthony's Kaitlyn Browne competes at the CHSAA girls golf state championships at Silver Lake Golf Course in Staten Island.  Photo Credit: Patrick E. McCarthy

By Peter Kersich Newsday

Twenty holes.

That’s what it took to decide a winner at Monday’s CHSAA girls golf state championship at Silver Lake Golf Course in Staten Island.

St. Anthony’s Kaitlyn Browne and Our Lady of Mercy’s Victoria Dowling were all squared at 9-over-par 79 after 18 holes, and headed to the par-4 17th for a sudden-death playoff.

“Once I found out I was tied, my initial thought was to just maintain the mentality that I had throughout the back nine,” Browne said. “I wanted to keep my confidence up and play smart.”

Each golfer double-bogeyed the 17th. They moved to the par-5 18th for a second playoff hole. At the 18th, Browne was able to get on the green in three and tapped in for bogey to win the CHSAA individual state title and defeat Dowling, who double-bogeyed.

“It took a lot to get here and it took a lot of people, too,” Browne said. “My coaches, family and friends have all supported me and I’m so thankful for them. I also really want to thank the members and caddies at the National Golf Links of America in Southampton for allowing me to train on their course.”

Dowling, who finished second to St. Anthony’s Allison Amoruso in a playoff at the CHSAA league championship May 14, said, “This season was really an eye-opener for me. I have confidence now that I can actually play and compete with all these talented girls.”

Browne trailed by a stroke heading to the final hole in regulation and needed a birdie to keep her hopes alive. 

She hit her tee shot down the righthand side and got a favorable bounce from the cart path, as her ball landed in the fairway. She put her second shot on the green, giving her a chance at eagle to win the championship. The eagle putt just missed, but she was able to make birdie and force the playoff.

Browne and Dowling helped lead the Diocese of Rockville Centre contingent to a first-place finish in the team portion of the championship with a score of 432. Amoruso, Chanel Hudson (St. Anthony’s), Claire Galante (Kellenberg) and Olivia Callahan (Kellenberg) were the other four members of the team.

“My Dad got me into the sport when I was 5 years old, so I have been playing for almost 10 years,” Browne said. “He always pushed me to do better, took so much time out of his life and really made me what I am today. This wouldn’t have been possible without him.”

Allison Amourso of St. Anthonys watches the flight of the ball after teeing off on the 18th hole during the CHSAA girls golf championships at Eisenhower Park on Tuesday. Photo Credit: Daniel De Mato

By Peter Kersich Newsday

When it came down to deciding a winner of Tuesday’s CHSAA girls golf league championship, 18 holes simply wasn’t enough.

On a day that began in the late morning on the back nine on the Eisenhower Park White Course and concluded in the evening on the front, St. Anthony’s Allison Amoruso and Our Lady of Mercy’s Victoria Dowling were deadlocked at 7-over-par 79.

The two golfers headed to the ninth hole for a sudden death playoff.

Amoruso teed off first and hit her ball down the middle of the fairway. She then hit her second shot onto the back of the green and was able to three-putt to bogey the hole and win the league title, defeating Dowling, who triple-bogeyed.

“I didn’t think I was even going to play in a playoff,” Amoruso said. “But when I found out, I told myself ‘I got this’.”

Dowling, who shot 1-over 37 on her first nine holes of the day, birdied her second-to-last hole in regulation to move one shot ahead of Amoruso, who had already finished her round.

As she walked to the final tee box, Dowling was locked in.

“I didn’t know how far ahead I was, and didn’t want to know,” Dowling said. “I wanted to focus on finishing the round and see how I did when it was over.”

Dowling’s par putt on the ninth green slid just past the hole, allowing Amoruso the chance to compete in the playoff.

“It’s one of those sports where you really need to practice and spend time on the golf course,” St. Anthony’s coach Ashley Nimmo said. “Her dad is very involved and made sure that even this morning, he got her a few lessons with the golf pro on the range before beginning her round.”

In addition to Amoruso and Dowling, four other golfers qualified for Monday’s May 20 CHSAA state tournament that will take place at Silver Lake Golf Course in Staten Island. Kaitlyn Browne (St. Anthony’s) finished third with an 80, Claire Galante (Kellenberg) was fourth with an 82 and her Firebirds’ teammate Olivia Callahan placed fifth with an 86.

Chanel Hudson (St. Anthony’s) and her Friars’ teammate Freya Do each shot 87 and faced off against one another in a one-hole playoff to decide the sixth-place finisher. Hudson bested Do on the playoff hole to secure the sixth and final spot in the tournament.