Reagan Padilla defeated Melissa Holland 2&1 in the silver division championship match, and Robinson took down Pam “Rookie” Evans to win the gold division.
July 18, 2023
By Chris Werner
USGA P.J. Boatwright Jr. Intern
Reagan Padilla and Kim Robinson won the silver and gold divisions of the Arkansas State Women’s Match Play Championships on July 14 at Burns Park Golf Course. Padilla, a rising sophomore at Tusculum University, beat Melissa Holland 2&1 in the finals and Robinson defeated Pam “Rookie” Evans 5&3 in the championship.
In the silver championship match, Padilla, the No. 3 seed, held a 4 UP advantage after nine holes, but Holland, the No. 4 seed, brought the deficit back to just one through 14 holes.
The competitors halved the 15th and 16th holes on Burns Park’s Championship Course, setting the stage for Padilla to close it out on the 17th. Padilla found the front left portion of the green on her approach to the par 4, and Robinson missed the green to the right, but Robinson’s ball was closer to the middle hole location, so Padilla played first.
In front of about 20 spectators, Padilla stepped up and drained a 35-foot putt to ultimately take victory as Holland’s hole-tying bid to stay alive in the match scooted well past the hole.
Padilla said she stayed patient during Holland’s back-nine surge with a mindset of acceptance.
“She had some really good shots on the back nine,” Padilla said of Holland. “She threw it in there pretty well. I just had to stay calm and accept the result no matter what.”
Padilla fired a 7-over 78 in qualifying to grab the No. 3 seed, then she advanced to the championship with wins over No. 6 seed Kerry Lareau 5&3 on Wednesday, No. 2 seed Nora Phillips 2 UP on Thursday,
She said her run to the championship was fueled by improvement off the tee.
“When we did qualifying, I didn't really have anything that I could put in the fairway,” Padilla said. “Then gradually, over three days, I finally found a fairway-finder that worked.”
Her decision to tee off with a 3-wood almost exclusively on par 4s and 5s paid off as she made her way through the bracket.
“[The win] boosted my confidence a lot telling me that I can play well and win tournaments," Padilla said.
In the gold division, there were far fewer in-week adjustments necessary for the winner.
Robinson led from wire-to-wire at Burns Park as the former elite junior golfer in the northeast and Division II field hockey player carded a 4-over 75 to lead all players in qualifying.
Then the No. 1 seed beat No. 8 seed Diane Pennington 8&6 on Wednesday, and No. 5 seed Christie Mahl 3&2 on Thursday, to set up a date with Evans, the No. 2 seed in the finals.
Robinson was 3 UP at the turn in the championship match and closed the deal with a par on the 15th hole.
“I've worked really hard on my game," Robinson said after her championship victory. "I just wanted to stay as consistent as I could. It's not easy coming in as number one [seed], there's pressure, and all of these ladies are great, too. They can get it up and down. And so I just really stayed focused on my swing and my game every step of the way.”
Before the final match, Robinson said finding fairways was a key at Burns Park — as many of the players did — and she accomplished that objective throughout the week and especially with the trophy on the line.
“I kept in the fairway every time, and I worked hard to get greens in regulation,” Robinson said. “I think where I could have probably done a little bit better was some of my chips, maybe a couple of my putts, but I held it together.”
2023 marks both Robinson and Padilla’s first Arkansas Women’s Match Play Championship title.
The next ASGA major is the Junior Match Play at Eagle Hill Golf and Athletic Club from July 18-21. View qualifying round results and the match play brackets from that event HERE
