McKenzi Hall (Championship), Ronda Henderson (Silver State Gross) and Cristy Esposo (Silver State Net) won titles at the 2024 Nevada State Women’s Amateur. The tournament was held July 8-10, 2024, at Bear’s Best Las Vegas.–by Bill Bowman, Las Vegas Golf Insider
Championship
McKenzi Hall played a four-hole stretch in four-under-par during the final round in posting a four-shot victory in the Championship Division.
Hall had an eagle and two birdies in that run in helping her win a state amateur title for the first time.
Hall, who will be a senior at UNLV this fall, said the victory will jump-start her play.
“I’m really proud of myself,” she said. “This may be one of my last amateur years so to do this in my last chance means a lot to me. I was happy to get it done.”
Hall’s four-under-par final round came after two even-par rounds.
“The first two days, I wasn’t hitting the ball very well,” she said. “It was a grind. Today, the ball striking was much better and I was hitting a lot more greens.”
Hall said her eagle on the par-5 12th, while impressive, was also needed at the time.
“The eagle was actually kind of crazy,” she said. “Samantha (Harris) holed out from a bunker for an eagle right before me. That made my 15-foot putt a little more of a challenge. I really wanted to make that putt and I did.”
She said that putt showed her mindset is solid.
“I handled the pressure pretty well today,” she said. “I knew I was capable of shooting that low and just tried to stay focused.”
After the tournament’s second day, a practice session turned things around.
“It was just a small, little fix,” she said. “I was really confident going into today that I would hit the ball better.”
She said in the end, it was a great outcome.
“The first two days were pretty frustrating,” she said. “But today I was much more relaxed and played my game.”
Championship
McKenzi Hall, 72-72-68—212
Samantha Harris, 77-67—72—216
Samantha Phelan, 74-74-71—219
Silver State Gross
Ronda Henderson fired a one-under-par 71 in the tournament’s second round and cruised to an eight-shot victory in the gross division.
It was Henderson’s 13th state title that includes three individual crowns and 10 team titles. She knows the importance of winning top events.
Henderson said the win was anything but a cakewalk.
“It’s hard to win when you have a big lead,” said Henderson who led by 11 after the second day. “The challenge with a big lead is mental. You’re expecting to win and everyone else is expecting you to win.”
Henderson had a solid second round that left her with confidence.
“It was such a great day yesterday,” she said of her second-round 71. “It was just easy golf. I made a few putts. Sometimes golf is like that…it’s easy one day and then came today.”
Henderson said her final round was a struggle…especially on the greens.
“I did a lot of things you’re not supposed to do mentally,” she said. “I worked hard to get out of it and try to be more productive with my thinking. It didn’t work out so well.”
And that was especially true on the greens.
“I double bogeyed 18 (her second hole of the round) and then missed an eight foot birdie putt on No. 1,” she said. “I also missed a six-to-eight footer for birdie on No. 2. I also missed a couple of two-footers for par and I four-putted No. 9…that was fun. Missing a lot of putts can get on your nerves pretty quickly,” she said. “I just tried to do the old fashioned fairways and greens approach and tried to stay positive. It wasn’t pretty today but golf is certainly like that at times.”
Silver State Gross
Ronda Henderson, 77-71-80—228
Regina Quintero, 78-81-77—236
Yoshie Masuda, 87-82-83—252
Silver State Net
Cristy Esposo posted three net eagles, incuding two in the final round, in winning the net title.
For the three days, Esposo added 13 birdies (two natural and 11 net) to her eagles in winning her first state crown.
“I’m still in shock, actually,” Esposo said. “I really wasn’t expecting to win but I just played pretty well all three days.”
She added her tee to green game was solid.
“My driving and irons…I just hit it well the last three days,” she said. “I just tried to stay calm, stay hydrated and play the best golf I could.”
Esposo said her putting wasn’t the best part of her game…until it was.
“I didn’t make a lot of putts but I did make ones when they really counted,” she said.
And that included a putt at the start of the final round.
“We started on 17 and I had bogey (net par),” she said. “Then on 18 I hit a good shot into the green and made about a 30-footer for a birdie (net eagle) and that boosted my confidence. I just tried to have a fluid swing the rest of the way.”
In the end, she said she’s heard from a lot of her friends.
“Everyone is texting me,” she said. “It’s a pretty awesome feeling…state net champion.”
Silver State Net
Cristy Esposo, 73-75-72—220
My Paulsen, 76-74-77—227
Karen Bernard, 77-71—84—232