By Rob Hernandez

Wisconsin.Golf

WATERTOWN — The first thing Ava Salay did Wednesday when she was led into the clubhouse at Watertown Country Club and shown the trophy that will soon include her name for winning the Wisconsin State Women’s Match Play Championship was admire the legendary names already on it.

Many are Wisconsin Golf Hall of Famers such as Joyce Ziske Malison, Goldie Bateson, Carol Sorenson Flen niken, Paula Clauder Garzotto, Mary McMillin Fossum, Sherri Steinhauer, Joellyn Erdman Crooks, Sue Ginter, Maggie Leef and Katie Falk, with whom she was paired during Monday’s qualifying round.

Others are college coaches such as former University of Wisconsin coaches Jackie Hayes and Chris Regenberg and current coaches Patricia (Frohna) Post of Delaware, Katie (Connelly) Lukraft of St. Olaf (Minn.), Carly WerwieSwartz of Loyola (Ill.) and Andrea (Meeker) Wieland of UW Whitewater.

That’s just to name a few because, as Salay was quick to point out as she studied the trophy up close, the first name bestate girls matchplay championship at Hartford GC.

Salay, a rising senior at Prescott High School and the reigning WIAA Division 2 cold, rainy weather during which rules official Dan Stolper had to squeegee the first green with the back of a bunker rake. After the rain sub sided, Salay won No. 7 with that birdie Martinez referenced and drew even by winning Nos. 8 and 10 with pars.

‘I knew it was coming,’ Salay said of the break in the rain that coincided with her comeback. ‘I tried not to get my hopes up and rely on the weather getting better. I just planned on playing in it the en tire time.

‘After it got better, that’s when I started to play a little bit better. After it started get ting bad again, I tried to lock in and make sure that I was really focused on my target.’

Salay took her first lead after she lagged a 30 foot putt on No. 13 within inches of the cup for a conceded par before Martinez missed a short putt to match her. She pushed her lead to 2 up on No. 14 after getting up and down from behind the green for a par, only to watch her cushion get cut in half after she three putted No. 16 for bogey. She closed out the match on the next hole after hitting a 7 iron from 155 yards to about 8 feet and sinking the winning birdie.

‘I think I just got some momentum and started hitting some much better shots,’ Salay said. ‘I was just able to keep pushing through no matter what — if I went up or went down on the back nine — it was just hitting those targets and hitting shots.’

This article was republished with Wisconsin.Golf’s permission.

Prescott’s Ava Salay kisses the trophy after winning the 2022 Wisconsin State Women’s MatchPlay Championship. Photo courtesy of Wisconsin.Golf / Rob Hernandez