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Utah Tech golfer thankful for UGA’s Copper Rock Championship invite
Mia Cesarek wishes she could have taken better advantage of the opportunity, but she took satisfaction in having earned her way into the Copper Rock Championship with a Utah Golf Association victory.
For the first time in the LPGA Epson Tour event’s five-year history in Hurricane, the UGA was allowed to award a sponsor invitation. That’s how the annual Winterchamps tournament, with the final round staged at Copper Rock Golf Course in March, became a play-in event.
“I think it’s a great test of our games, especially to see what maybe the future holds for us for golf so I think it’s a great opportunity moving forward,” – Mia Cesarek.
Cesarek edged Utah Tech University teammate Samantha Phelan to earn the spot, with Phelan already having received the school’s exemption. Phelan outplayed her teammate in the Copper Rock Championship, but Cesarek will always be proud to have created her own chance to play at the Epson Tour level.
“It was just an amazing experience,” she said Friday evening, after a second-nine fade resulted in another 79. “Obviously, I didn’t play as well as I would have liked, but seeing how my game holds up and what I need to work on for next year (in college golf) is pretty awesome.”
Cesarek birdied her first hole (No. 10) and made the turn in 1 over par, only to post a 42 on Copper Rock’s front nine with double bogeys on both par-3 holes.
Samantha Phelan missed the 36-hole cut by four strokes, with a 4-over-par total that topped the other Utah collegians in the field.
Phelan (73-75) struggled on the first nine holes Friday with five bogeys, but played Copper Rock’s back nine in 2 under par with birdies on the last two holes. She missed the 36-hole cut by four strokes, with a 4-over-par total that topped the other Utah collegians in the field: Utah Valley’s Chloe Jang (78-76) and Southern Utah’s Siriporn Luangnam (80-81). Another amateur, former UNLV golfer Toa Yokoyama (73-73), also missed the cut, while playing via the status she earned in the LPGA Qualifying Series.
“It was really awesome to finish with two birdies, especially with grandstands on those two holes,” Phelan said. “I am really proud of myself. This is the best experience I have had in my golf career so far and I am forever grateful for the opportunity.”
Cesarek endorsed the combination of school-chosen invitations to Utahns and the UGA champion’s opportunity. “I think it’s a great test of our games, especially to see what maybe the future holds for us for golf, so I think it’s a great opportunity moving forward,” she said.
Epson Tour rookie Melanie Green will join first round leader Hailee Cooper in Saturday’s final pairing tied at 13-under.
As for Saturday, two golfers share the lead going into the final round. Melanie Green (67-64), an Epson Tour rookie from South Florida, joins former Texas A&M golfer Hailee Cooper (63-68) at the top. They’re closely followed by rookie Carla Tejedo Mulet (65-67), with 2022 champion Dottie Ardina (67-66) another stroke behind.
Click here for 36-hole Copper Rock Championship leaderboard.