Glen Ellyn Golfer Falls in Sudden Death at Major Tournament

Brooke Kochevar’s duel with Meghan McDougall over 22 holes of match play Wednesday at Flossmoor Country Club had a little of everything -- great driving, clutch chipping, superb putting -- even barking dogs, a runaway deer, and a wicked widow.

Kochevar, who will be a senior this fall at Glenbard West, was ousted from the championship flight of the Western National Junior Championship when her Canadian opponent sank a three-foot putt for par on the fourth hole of sudden death.

Kochevar was highly critical of her play in the match, even though many spectators who watched the Glen Ellyn golfer would disagree with her assessment.

“I played really bad, actually,” she said. “I guess we both played not as good as we should have.”

Kochevar said she was particularly unhappy with her putting.

“My chipping was a little off, too,” she added. “It was a lot better yesterday.”

Kochevar shot a six-over-par (78) Tuesday to give her a 36-hole total of 159 for the first two days of qualifying play in the tournament. McDougall, of Markham, Ont., finished at 157, giving her a slightly higher seed than Kochevar as match play got underway. Only 32 of the 96 golfers entered in the tournament qualified for the championship flight of match play.

“My first goal was to get into the championship flight, which I did,” Kochevar said. “I haven’t played match play in a really long time, so I just wanted to play my best.”

Kochevar says Wednesday's match wasn't her best but she was poised to advance until McDougall hit a brilliant chip shot on 18 that set up a short putt to force sudden death.

After her tee shot on the second playoff hole wound up in the left bunker, it was Kochevar who needed a clutch chip shot to stave off elimination. She delivered, putting the ball within three feet of the pin. She sank the ensuing putt to save par on the hole.

A dazed deer briefly interrupted play on the third playoff hole as it ran along the tree-lined right side of the fairway. Both players wound up bogeying the challenging 387-yard, par-4 hole, which was the 18th hole when the course first opened in 1899.

The persistent barking of a pair of large, brown dogs provided another distraction on the next hole. There are no less than six bunkers to try to avoid on the 330-yard, par-4 hole, but after driving the fairway, Kochevar’s second shot was too much of a line drive that caught the sand trap to the right of the green. She left the subsequent chip well short of the flag.

“That was interesting,” Kochevar said. “The greens -- some of them rolled faster than the others. It was kind of annoying.”

Kochevar’s long putt attempt for par was a couple of feet long and McDougall sank a three-foot par putt to win the playoff.

Kochevar is scheduled to take on another Canadian, Rachel Pollock of Guelph, Ont., in the consolation bracket of the championship flight Thursday morning.

This is the 85th National Junior Championship conducted by the Women’s Western Golf Association. It features some of the top junior players from across the United States and four foreign countries, including Manuela Carbajo Re of Argentina, who fired a one-under-par, 71, during qualifying play Monday.

Kochevar, is a three-time state qualifier for the Hilltoppers and she’s steadily improved her state finishes, from 30th as a freshman to 11th as a junior. She hopes her summer tournament play will help her finish even higher this fall.

“I had a rough start [to the summer], but now I’ve figured out more about my swing,” she said. “It didn’t show today, but I’m getting it better, so hopefully the next couple of tournaments I play will be a lot better than this one.”

Kochevar will travel to New Jersey and Virginia for tournaments later this summer.