There wasn’t any celebration. No high fives. No hugs with her teammates.
Alyaa Abdulghany hardly even cracked a smile on Thursday at San Juan Hills Golf Course after winning the Pacific Coast League finals for the second season in a row.
For the Corona del Mar senior this was just the first step in the long road toward defending her CIF State girls golf championship.
“It is a process. I am happy that I won, but I still have a lot to work on,” Abdulghany said. “I still have to get my game together. I didn’t play so well today.”
When you are the third ranked player in the nation, rounds in the 60s apparently aren’t that big of a deal.
Abdulghany fired a 2-under par 69 in the final round and cruised to a five-stroke victory in the 36-hole tournament, finishing with a 1-under-par 141 which gives her a tee time in Monday’s CIF-SS Southern Individual Regional at Dad Miller Golf Course in Anaheim.
“I missed a lot of birdie putts and my shots weren’t that great,” she said. “I shot 2 under, but it wasn’t the best way to shoot 2 under.”
She opened with a 1-over-par 72, which put her in a tie for second Kristin Shea (University), three shots behind University junior Samantha Cabunag, who posted a 69 in the first round.
Cabunag shot a 77 on Thursday and fell into a second-place tie with Woodbridge sophomore Yuki Yoshihara. Both finished with a 4-over-par 146
Even though she was recently selected as an AJGA Rolex All American and won the SCPGA Women’s California State Open, a professional tournament, Abdulghany isn’t taking anything for granted this postseason.
She said she just wants to make the cut at every stage of the qualifying process for state, which begins on Monday at Dad Miller. Winning all four of the individual postseason tournaments, she said isn’t unrealistic, but it’s a very lofty goal.
“That (winning them all) would be great. But I just want I am just trying to stay in the moment,” she said. “I will do my best at Dad Miller and see how that goes.”
In the South Coast League Finals:
Even though she had six three putts on Thursday at San Juan Hills Golf course, Dana Hills senior Joan Soewondo still held on to win the tournament for the second year in a row, and will play in Monday’s CIF-SS Southern Individual Regional at Dad Miller Glf Course.
After posting a 6-over-par 77 in the final round, she finished the 36-hole championship with a 4-over 146. Trabuco Hills’ Hailey Borja placed second with a 148.
“I would putt it and over read it, and then I would putt it and under read it,” she said. “It kept going back and forth, and it was mostly on my short putts. I know what I need to work on now for CIF.”
