Julia Forster said she played the best two rounds of her life. Bella Vigna regrouped after an up-and-down first day and played a consistent final round.
At the end of the day, the best friends and Dos Pueblos juniors shared the title of Channel League Champions. Vigna and Forster each shot 154 to win the two-round league individual tournament on Tuesday at Soule Park in Ojai.
It’s the third straight league title for Vigna.
Is winning the title getting old?
“No, never,” she said.
Vigna said it was great to share the title with her friend.
“Julia has gotten so much better. I thought (DP teammate) Gabby (Minier) was going to be my main competitor. Playing with Julia today, she was unstoppable. She didn’t mess up, it was really great to watch,” Vigna said.
The top five golfers on Tuesday advance to the CIF Northern Regional Individual Tournament on Monday at River Ridge Golf Course in Oxnard.
DP’s Gabby Minier finished third at 157 and Hannah Cho of the Chargers was fourth at 174. The fifth spot went to MacKenzie McBride, who beat San Marcos teammate Alex Pitchford in a playoff after they each shot 176.
Vigna fired a 5-over 76 on Tuesday after shooting a 78 on Monday.
“I stayed consistent,” she said. “I didn’t have over a double bogey, while the day before I had a triple and a double and an eagle — it was a weird round the first day. Today, it was like consistently pars and a couple of bogeys.”
Forster was consistent throughout the 36 holes, shooting 77 both days.
“They were two of the best rounds of my life, so it was really good to do it back to back, and to play my best round was awesome,” she said.
Forster entered the tournament playing well. She shot a personal best of 37 over 9 holes in DP’s final regular season match
“I really shaped up my short game, which has helped me score better, and I’ve been learning some new shots and they’ve helped me on the course,” she said. On both days, I played really well on the front — I was 1 over on the first day and 1 under on the second. Toward the back I was a little tired but I stayed consistent.”
DP coach Dan Choi said it was nice to see the best friends share the title.
“At first the coaches said they there would be a playoff, but when we actually looked at the League Code Book we saw that they are supposed to be co-champs in the event for a tie. Both Bella and Julia were grateful as they said they both had nothing left in the tank.
“I was really impressed by so many of the girls performances today,” Choi added. “Our top four girls all either matched or bettered their scores from yesterday. Gabby is one of our most talented and determined players and I know she was a little disappointed with her score yesterday. She made up a lot of ground today, shooting three strokes better to put her in third place overall.
Santa Barbara’s Luka Lund continued her consistent season and earned ninth place after shooting 186.
— Noozhawk sports reporter Christian Eckert can be reached at ceckert@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports and @noozhawk. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.