Local schools have made it to the Naperville Country Club for the 23rd annual Vern McGonagle City Championship! Benet Academy has won this tournament for three consecutive years and looks to defend its title against the rest of the Naperville area. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
Metea Valley and Neuqua Valley golfers open the Vern McGonagle City Championship with pars
Let’s open the day at the par three, third hole with Metea Valley’s Ellie Buckland. The Mustang executes a nice chip, as the ball rolls out to the cup– nearly dunking in for birdie! Buckland hits home the par.
Neuqua’s Malar Anand is putting for birdie on the fourth hole green, and she applies perfect speed, but the accuracy is just off! Malar records par and finishes the day in 12th place.
Back to the par three, third – here’s another Wildcat with a birdie opportunity. Aditi Reddy has a nice line on the putt, the ball stops just short, and she walks off the green with a par. Reddy finishes as Neuqua’s top scorer in 11th place.
Mustang Ansley Ellis and Warrior Siya Sohal crack the top 10
We head to the top 10 finishers from the city championship, and here’s Ansley Ellis of Metea on hole 2. She watches the high-arcing chip land just right of the flag, and it rolls a bit towards the cup. Ellis knocks down the putt on the way to a round of 45 and a 10th-place finish.
Waubonsie Valley’s Siya Sohal comes in at ninth place with a score of 44, as she hits her tee shot on the par three third. It lands on the heart of the green, setting up a birdie look. Sohal gives herself a chance on the putt with some nice speed and would go on to record a par.
Naperville Central and Naperville North golfers putt for birdie
We’ll get a look at our first Redhawk as Alexa Miller is putting for par on hole eight, which is one of the hardest holes of the day. Miller’s putt tracks offline, but she hits home the bogey en route to a 43 and an eighth-place finish.
We’ll keep it with the Redhawks, this time with Erin Hackett, who’s putting for birdie on hole three. Hackett delivers a par for Naperville Central and comes in at the number seven spot on the leaderboard with a 42.
Over to the ninth green, where Naperville North’s Addy Ciganek chips her second shot after a great drive. The ball makes it to the green and closes in on the cup, as she putts for birdie and walks away with a par. Ciganek finishes as the top Huskie in sixth place overall.
Benet Academy looks to capture a third straight city title after being led by freshman Lauren Gauss
Waubonsie’s Mina Shyam finds herself in a tough spot in the greenside bunker on hole 4. She picks the ball out cleanly and sets up a chance to save par. The Warrior does well on the putt, knocking it right down the cup to help secure a top-five finish individually with a score of 41.
We’ll get our first look at Benet Academy, Maddie Maldonado is chipping on the right of your screen on hole eight. She hits her fourth shot onto the heart of the putting surface, then steps up for her par putt, knocking it down from a distance! Maldonado ends in fourth with a round of 39.
Benet freshman, Lauren Gauss, nuked a drive close to the green on hole nine, and now chips it well onto the green. The Redwing sets up the birdie putt, but it stops just before the hole. Gauss records six straight pars to finish her round in third place with a 39.
Metea Valley freshman Maya Shah finishes in second, and Central senior Ashika Patel wins her second straight McGonagle City Championship
The top Mustang finisher is freshman Maya Shah, and here she is chipping on hole eight. The ball rolls past the cup and sets up a nice look at par. Shah does well on the putt, hitting it pure for one of just four pars on the day on hole eight.
Shah finishes her round here on hole four and looks to make another par, but the ball rolls off to the left. The Mustang freshman knocks down her next putt and secures second place with a round of 39.
After winning the McGonagle last season, Redhawk senior Ashika Patel locks in for another great round at Naperville Country Club. Her tee shot on hole three rolls just off the green, but she’s pin-high at the flag. Patel pulls out the Texas wedge and executes it to perfection for a birdie!
After a nice drive on hole nine, Patel now chips her second shot onto the green. The ball rolls out well, and the Redhawk has a chance to break even. It’s a tester, and Patel brings it home with a left-to-right putt. The Redhawk senior records three birdies on the day for a score of 36, and her second consecutive Naperville City Championship!
It also helps Central to the program’s first McGonagle City Championship since 2010, with a team score of 169! Benet Academy finishes six strokes back in second place, and Metea Valley finishes with a 181. Waubonsie Valley finishes in fourth at 185, Neuqua Valley in fifth with a 193, and Naperville North in sixth with a 205.
For more prep sports highlights, visit the Naperville Sports Weekly page!
