Familiar girls from the local high school golf scene are making strong statements this month as they continue to improve. Some less-than-familiar golfers are emerging behind them for a promising beginning to the spring and summer golf season for many Northern Kentuckians.
Ryle High School’s Elizabeth Dickson was 10th in the Greater Cincinnati Golf Association 1905 Junior Tour girls’ 18-under player of the year points standings through June 12. Dickson, an incoming freshman representing Boone/Lassing, accrued 180 points after two events, one of which was a victory at the Kenton County Spring Junior with an 18-hole score of 89.
The 89 represented a personal milestone. It was the first time Dickson broke 90 while being the lowest round she’s ever scored. When Dickson played in her first varsity high school tournament a few years ago, she shot 127. She began golfing for Ryle as a seventh-grader. She likes the 1905 Junior Tour because it gives her more experience.
“I want to shoot lower than last season,” said Dickson, who also has a Kentucky Junior Tour 15-under victory. “My short game has improved the most.”
Not that her long game is shabby. Dickson, 14, can drive a golf ball 233 yards. She did that last week at a drive, chip and putt event for teens. She drove the ball well at the recently completed Great Parks Junior Open where she placed fourth with an 18-hole total gross score of 90, 14 shots behind the winner.
Also appearing in the 1905 Junior Tour girls’ 18-under top 20 were 13th-place Sofia Seals from the Boone County school district with 155 points, 14th-place Emma Laker from Bishop Brossart High School with 150, and 20th-place Natalie Lovell from Notre Dame Academy with 110. Lovell has one victory, at the Hickory Junior Cup. Lovell tied for third at last year’s Kentucky High School Athletic Association Region 7 girls’ golf tournament. Laker placed fifth at the Region 8 tournament.
In the 1905 Junior Tour girls’ 12-under player of the year points race, Reese Anthony from Hebron was second with 730 points on the strength of four victories in six events. The 10-year-old Anthony had more points on tour than any other Northern Kentucky golfer through June 12. Her wins came at the 18-hole Fairfield Junior Open and three nine-hole events: the Clovernook Junior Open, Losantiville Junior Invitational and Bel-Wood Junior Shootout.
“She’s played a lot of golf for being so little,” said her father, Evan Anthony, a recreational golfer.
He allowed his daughter to tag along with him as a 2-year-old when he hit the links. He eventually let her swing one of his clubs. One thing led to another, and she got her own clubs.
“My dad just took me out and let me hit the ball,” said Reese, an incoming fifth-grader. “It was fun and I like playing.”
Reese Anthony already has a hole-in-one. Last June, she aced the par-3, 112-yard No. 3 at Traditions Golf Club, which is about a mile from her home. She knocked it in with a 3-hybrid. She has qualified for several junior national tournaments, including the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship in Pinehurst, North Carolina in August. She finished in the top 30 at last year’s Future Champions Golf Callaway World Junior Championships in Palm Springs, Florida.
She’s not the only Anthony girl making it big on the links. Her sister, eight-year-old Nora Anthony, has one victory and was tied for second with 220 points in the girls’ 9-under player of the year points standings. Nora picked up her first win in the first 1905 Junior Tour event she played in at the Fairfield Junior Open. This is her first competitive season.
“I’m very happy for her,” Reese said. “It’s really fun playing with my sister.”
Elsewhere around the links:
NOTAH BEGAY III LOCAL QUALIFIER: Caroline Bohman from Independence picked up her first points of the season on the Bluegrass Golf Tour at the first NB3 qualifier at Nevel Meade Golf Course in Prospect. Bohman earned 65 points with a sixth-place finish in the girls’ ages 12-13 event. She was fifth at the turn, just eight shots off the lead. Bohman’s best finish last year on the Peggy Kirk Bell Girls Golf Tour was third at the Kentucky Series Event at Battlefield Golf Course in the Discovery Kentucky Division.