Angelina Tolentino (Pennsylvania Golf Association Photo)

The 17-year-old birdied her first four holes and went on to record a 5-under par 68 that enabled her to overcome a two-stroke deficit and claim the 88th Pennsylvania Women’s Amateur Championship at Waynesborough Country Club in the Philadelphia suburb of Paoli, Pa. The Mount Laurel, N.J native finished the three-day, 54-hole test at 8-under par 211.

Natasha Kiel (New Hope, Pa.) who started the day with the lead, finished one shot behind at 212 after a closing 71. Jackie Rogowicz, who was seeking to become a three-time winner of this championship, placed third at 216 after posting an even-par 73.

Megan Meng placed fourth at 218, while Michelle Cox wound up at 219. Rylie Heflin was at 223.

The victory allowedTolentino, who is headed to Vanderbilt this fall, to claim an exemption into the upcoming U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship at Southern Hills (she had failed to qualify).

“I’d say that definitely kept me going today,” she said. “I knew I was high up there on the leaderboard. I definitely had that exemption in the back of my mind.”

Playing in the final group off the first tee with Kiel and Rogowicz, Tolentino exploded out of the starting gate by recording birdies at her first four holes but her par save at the fifth may have been just as significant.

Her tee shot at the 339-yard par four finished just short of a bunker on the left side of the fairway. Forced to take an awkward stance, she played her second shot into the middle of the fairway, followed with a wedge to the green and drained her putt to save her par.

“I did not like the lie in the bunker,” Tolentino said. “I just had to pitch out, got a wedge and fluffed it out there, just tried to roll it out there as far as possible; then I felt comfortable with that third shot. I told myself not to overthink and just try and make the putt.”

Tolentino went on to birdie the par-5 seventh and made the turn at 5-under par 31 for the day and eight under par for the championship. At that point, she enjoyed a two-shot advantage over Kiel and three over Rogowicz.

Rain began falling when the trio reached the eighth green and for the next several holes the players battled the elements.
Kiel closed to within a shot of the lead with a two-putt birdie at the short par-5 10th and a 25-foot birdie at the par-4 11th. She grabbed a share of the lead when Tolentino bogeyed the short par-3 14th.

Tolentino said at that point she had to ‘collect herself.’

“Just forget about it, don’t dwell on the past, and go on to the next hole,’” she said, “and just keep going from there.”

Rogowicz had fallen out of contention by this point and it was a two-player battle down the stretch.

Kiel fell out of the lead with a bogey at the par-four 16th and Tolentino held a one-stroke lead as the two players reached the final green; both missed birdie putts.

Kiel, who is a rising senior at Purdue, has played very little competitive golf this summer.

“I really only started playing tournament again in July,” she said. “I’ve been working and I took a little break after [competing in an NCAA regional tournament] so I’m pretty happy with the week considering I got the call for the [U.S. Women’s Amateur] last week.

“I came out here knowing I could come out here and be aggressive, go at pins, and really just try to go as low as possible.

“So I’m really happy with the week. I was hitting the ball really well and putting well.”

Tolentino made it a point not to get caught up in the emotion of the moment.

“I just took a step back and said ‘It’s just golf,’” she said. “It’s just another round. Whatever happens, happens and the most important thing is just to play my game and not get ahead of myself.”

Chip shots—The golf course played to approximately 6,200 yards. This marked the fifth consecutive year the tournament was conducted at medal play. Prior to that it was a match play event.