Kerstin Fotu surged ahead on her last nine holes Tuesday and became the stroke-play medalist in the 113th Women’s State Amateur at Logan Country Club.
Fotu shot 71-70 for a total of 3-under par 141, two strokes better than Southern Utah University golfer Poy Prasurtwong (68-75), the first-round leader.
Fotu, a Lone Peak High School graduate, will join BYU’s golf program in September. She started the second round on the back nine and was 1 over on that side, then made three birdies on the front nine.
“The main goal was just to get to match play,” said Fotu, who reached the quarterfinals as a 12-year-old in 2012, when Logan Country Club last hosted the State Am.
BYU golfer Naomi Soifua, who also finished on No. 9, triple-bogeyed that hole and barely made it into match play. Soifua (78-78) advanced, even with three 7s on her scorecard in two days. The cut came at 12 over par, with no playoff required to determine the 16 qualifiers.
Scores were much lower Tuesday than in the first round, with several golfers making nice comebacks. Carissa Graft, the Class 6A state tournament medalist from Bingham High School, went from 79 to 72 and tied for fifth with 15-year-old Grace Summerhays, who went from 80 to 71. Other big moves came from Laura Gerner (80-72) and Xena Motes (82-73) as they made the match-play field.
Two rounds will be staged Wednesday, followed by the semifinals and finals Thursday.
STATE AM RESULTS
36-hole scores
141 – Kerstin Fotu (71-70).
143 – Poy Prasurtwong (68-75).
145 – Anna Kennedy (74-71).
150 – Abbey Porter (76-74).
151 – Carissa Graft (79-72), Grace Summerhays (80-71).
152 – Launa Wilson (76-76), Laura Gerber (80-72), Tara Oglesby (76-76).
154 – Cassie Campos (80-74), Cristiana Ciasca (78-76), Kyla Smith (78-76).
155 – Xena Motes (82-73).
156 – Cora Mickelsen (79-77), Naomi Soifua (78-78), Taitum Beck (77-79).
Failed to qualify
157 – Alexis Wilson (83-74), Emma Winfree (77-80), Madison Moss (83-74).
158 – Hannah Gleason (80-78)
159 – Bailey Henley (78-81), Ivane Helias (78-81), Karen Valcarce (81-78), Morgan Bentley (75-84).
Match-play pairings:
Fotu (1) vs. Mickelsen (16).
Wilson (8) vs. Oglesby (9).
Porter (4) vs. Motes (13).
Graft (5) vs. Smith (12).
Prasurtwong (2) vs. Soifua (15).
Gerner (7) vs. Campos (10).
Kennedy (3) vs. Beck (14).
Summerhays (6) vs. Ciasca (11).
Follow @tribkurt