Sadie Englemann shot 63 in the first round of the Junior Club Championship at Austin Country Club to establish a new course record for women. She and her competitors played from the regular women’s tees that measure 5300 yards.
Playing in the 13-15 year old girls division of the junior club championship, Englemann shot 63-75=138 for a six under par total over 36 holes to claim the title by eight shots over Bentley Cotton, who shot 76-70=146.
While the score of 63 is remarkable in itself, it is stunning when you consider that Englemann is 12 years old and attends Westridge middle school, where she is a straight A student. Her previous low score at ACC was 68 and she shared the course record with Anna Morales, the current ACC Women’s club champion. Morales has qualified for several U.S. Mid Amateur Championships, played collegiate golf for Duke University and has quite a golf resume. Now, the record is Englemann’s alone. And, it may stand for a while.
The course record round included nine birdies and nine pars . Starting on the back nine, she recorded pars on the first two holes then birdied 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, and 18 to make the turn in six under par.
Word of her shooting 30 on the back nine generated enough interest among members that a gallery of spectators assembled for her trip around the front nine. They had the pleasure of watching Sadie shoot a 33 on the front nine that included six pars along with birdies on holes 3, 6, and 8.
Englemann had been instructed by Buck Mayers for a couple of years before changing to Breck Spradley at Barton Creek after Mayers took the position of Director of Instruction at Escondido in Marble Falls. She takes a lesson about every three months.
Although almost no one in Austin knows who Englemann is, she is compiling a solid golf resume which includes placing 11th in her age division in the 2014 Callaway Junior World Golf Championship, and playing on the U.S. Kids Ryder Cup Team in Pinehurst earlier this month. She is ranked 13th in the Girls 12-18 points category of the Texas Legends Junior Tour.
Although her parents have encouraged her to try other sports to avoid becoming burned out on golf, her father says she has always declined that offer and has never said she doesn’t want to practice golf. He said it’s been like that since she began playing at age 3. Mom, who is a pediatrician, keeps a close eye on balancing golf with school.
When her father was asked what Sadie had to say about the round he replied that she said “Can you believe that. I knew I could do it.”
