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BYU golfer Kerstin Ngakuru hits a shot during media day for the 2023 State Women's Amateur at Jeremy Ranch golf course in Park City on Wednesday, July 19, 2023.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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BYU golfer Kerstin Ngakuru hits a shot during media day for the 2023 State Women's Amateur at Jeremy Ranch golf course in Park City on Wednesday, July 19, 2023.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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BYU golfer Kerstin Ngakuru watches her shot during media day for the 2023 State Women's Amateur at Jeremy Ranch golf course in Park City on Wednesday, July 19, 2023.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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BYU golfer Kerstin Ngakuru hits a shot during media day for the 2023 State Women's Amateur at Jeremy Ranch golf course in Park City on Wednesday, July 19, 2023.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Lila Galea’i has done it. So has Kerstin Ngakuru. Berlin Long came close. Aadyn Long might be next in line.

And those are just four of the 90 best female golfers in Utah who will tee it up starting on Tuesday seeking to come in first and win the coveted 117th Utah State Women’s Amateur golf tournament.

Standing in their way, however, is the challenging 18 holes at the Jeremy Ranch Golf and Country Club in Park City.

“I think the greens are pretty soft and it’s set up where there are birdies out there, but there can also be big numbers that sneak in,” Berlin Long said at media day in July. “I think it will be a good test. It’s not playing super-long, but I think there will be some really fun matches.”

Lone Peak star Aadyn Long joined her sister for a practice round with reporters and said she sees both danger and opportunity on the course as well as from the competition.

“You’ve got to get through stroke play and try to have a good seed,” Aadyn Long said. “If you go and play your game, then you can get to match play. Then you have to take it one match at a time. That’s how I’m going to look at it this year.”

Berlin Long, Galea’i and Ngakuru are part of a strong BYU contingent that hopes to repeat the success that Galea’i had at Oakridge in 2021 and Ngakuru had at Logan in 2019.

“It’s all about confidence and believing you can do it,” Galea’i said. “I feel that something that helps me is having been here before and so I know there is nothing I can’t do.”

She said that she has come to grips with the pressure of having won the tournament in the past and enjoys the challenge.

“I feel like I’ve managed my nervousness better in the past few months,” Galea’i said. “Something that helps me is knowing that I’ve had a lot of crazy shots before, so I know I can pull them off.”

The reality, as all of the golfers know, is that there are numerous talented players and any one of them could get hot.

“It’s going to come down to whoever plays the best this week,” Berlin Long said. “You have to believe you can win but not be too disappointed if you don’t. You want to play your best, so hopefully the putts fall and things go your way. You learn from every match and move on to the next one.”

That doesn’t stop them from dreaming about certain matchup possibilities.

“My sister and I have talked about playing each other,” Aadyn Long said said with a grin. “Obviously we would want it to be in the semifinals or the finals. We’d have to get past a lot of people but that would be a really fun match. Maybe we can make it happen.”

The tournament starts with an 18-hole stroke play qualifying round on Tuesday, with the top 32 golfers advancing to match play.

At that point, the surviving competitors will move through five round of elimination match play on the next three days until only one is left after the finals on Friday.

Although it is a challenging event, all three athletes said it is one they look forward to every year.

“I feel like I’m kind of the underdog, being in high school,” Aadyn Long said. “There is not as much pressure on me right now and so I can use that to my advantage. There are a lot of great players out there but I can just go play my game.”

Galea’i said: “Every year I think it’s a fun tournament. There’s a lot of competition. I feel like it’s improved over the years, so it’s always exciting to see the competition and how everybody’s doing. I like that it’s kind of at the end of the summer because then you see everybody, catch up and just play golf. I feel like the state amateur is on the top of my tournament lists as something I’m excited to do.”

The competition is scheduled to tee off starting at 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday at Jeremy Ranch Golf and Country Club in Park City.

For tee times and results, go to http://UGA.org.

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