RANCHO CUCAMONGA – At Red Hill Country Club yesterday, La Costa Canyon High junior Danielle Frasier came closer to a state title than any San Diego Section golfer before her.
Frasier shot a 2-under-par 72 to tie Torrance's Jenny Shin after 18 holes. But on the first playoff hole – more than an hour after Frasier's final putt in regulation – Shin beat her with a par.
Torrance won the team title for the second straight year.
“I took about 10 or 15 practice swings before my tee shot (in the playoff),” said Frasier, who started her round more than 6½ hours earlier. “I hit a good shot, so that was nice.”
After the players found the fairway on the short par-4 first hole, their approach shots to the green each ended about 15 feet from the pin. Frasier, putting downhill, left her birdie attempt 5 feet short. Her second try lipped out, leaving her with a three-putt bogey.
“In my notes it said you couldn't be above the hole there, so I was thinking, 'Just hit it nice and smooth,' ” Frasier said. “It didn't even get close.”
A scouting report was critical for Frasier, who had not seen the course before her morning warm-up. Frasier carried written notes from a friend familiar with the layout but said she was learning on the fly.
“The holes they said 'Don't go left,' I went left, and the holes they said 'Don't go here,' I went there, but I guess that's the way it goes,” she said. “I was just going out and playing.”
Frasier made two bogeys and four birdies, including a 13-foot putt on the 18th green that was her longest of the day. She said Monday's Southern California Regional was similar to the first day of a tournament and yesterday's State Championship was more like the second.
“I putted well (Monday), so that gave me confidence,” Frasier said.
Carlsbad junior Rachel Morris, who finished third when the state tournament was held at Red Hill two years ago, shot 79 yesterday.
“I thought I was hitting the ball OK, but on the back nine I think I just got tired,” Morris said. “A couple of bad shots can easily get you into trouble around here.”
Rancho Bernardo sophomore Madi Mendiola, playing in her first State Championship, shot an 88.
“I felt like I belonged here, that I could compete with these girls,” Mendiola said, “but I knew my putting wasn't on, and after I made a couple of bogeys, I started to press, which didn't help.”
