Indiana high school girls golfers to watch this fall

The 2024 IHSAA girls golf season begins Monday.

Sectionals are slated for Sept. 19-23, followed by regionals Sept. 28. The state finals are scheduled for Oct. 4-5 at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel.

Here are some golfers to keep an eye on this fall.

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Olivia Bailey, Jr., Rochester

Bailey carded three birdies en route to an opening round 74 at state, then then put together a summer resume which included a fourth-place finish at Central Junior Masters and a second-place finish at a junior tour event at Tippecanoe CC.

Olivia Fowler, Jr., Noblesville

Fowler tied for 35th in her second career state final. She followed that performance with a solid summer, one which included a seventh-place finish at the Northern Junior Masters in July at Notre Dame. She scored five birdies and improved her score by 10 strokes in the second round.

Janelle Garcia, Jr., Hamilton Southeastern

Garcia placed top-40 at state, then secured four top-5 finishes over the summer. Her resume included a first-place finish in The Players Club Jr. Spring Series at TPC at Woodland Trails and a fourth-place finish in the Masters Tour Championship at Broadmoor.

Paige Giovenco, Sr., Floyd Central

Giovenco tied for 26th at state as a freshman, came in 15th as a sophomore and tied for sixth as a junior — three strokes behind a four-way tie for second and seven strokes off the lead. She shot an even-par 72 to tie for second in her first Indiana Women’s event, then scored a 66 with eight birdies over a 19-hole match in the match play quarterfinals. Giovenco was second within the Indiana regional of the Notah Begay Junior National Championship.

Maddie Headlee, So., Carmel

Headlee is one of only two returners from the Greyhounds’ state championship team. She scored a +33 over two days in her state finals debut. Fun fact: She birdied the second hole of her high school career after sticking the tee shot within about three feet of the pin.

Josie Kelley, Jr., Noblesville

Kelley fired an opening-round 74 at state and finished tied for 10th with a 7-over 151 (a substantial improvement from her freshman season). Her efforts helped Noblesville to a fourth-place finish, its first time reaching the podium since 2005. The Millers junior had five top-5 finishes over the summer, including a runner-up finishes at the Central Junior Masters, where she carded four birdies, and in the Indiana regional of the Notah Begay.

Ashley Kirkland, Sr., Castle

Kirkland fired a 72 on the second day of state to finish tied for second, just four strokes back of state champion Samantha Brown. It was the second consecutive runner-up finish for Kirkland, who finished nine back of Ava Bunker in 2022. The Xavier commit was Section champion at the PGA Indiana Junior Girls tournament in June and competed at the U.S. Girls Junior Championship in July.

Addi Kooi, Sr., Westfield

Kooi enters her final high school season coming off back-to-back top-5 finishes in the season’s pinnacle event. She tied for fourth as a sophomore, then carded matching 73s to tie for second in 2023. Also a talented tennis player (she helped the Rocks win first sectional championship last spring), she won the state preview meet, placed fourth at sectional and tied for second (lost the tiebreaker) at regional.

Taylor Larkins, Jr., FW Carroll

She has challenged for a spot in the top 10 at both of her first state meets. She finished a stroke back of a three-way tie for 10th last year. Larkins qualified for the U.S. Girls Junior Championship over the summer, finishing two strokes back of Franklin’s Lexi Ray at the Indiana Golf Girls State Junior Championship.

Sophie Mock, Sr., Carmel

A top-25 finisher at state, Mock helped the golf team repeat as state champions in the fall, then keyed a title-clinching comeback for the lacrosse team in the spring. She carded three birdies and 18 pars at state.

Abbey Peterson, Sr., Warsaw

The Tigers senior shot a second-round 75 to end her high school season with a 10th-place finish and all-state honors. Peterson qualified for state as an individual, shooting a 73 at regional (seventh place overall, five off the lead). She and Culver Academy’s Lynne Zhang squared off in a seven-hole playoff to determine the sectional champion.

Rowan Pies, Jr., East Central

Pies followed a 14th-place finish at state (fired a 72 on day two) with a very busy summer, one which included a second-place finish at the Northern Junior Masters. She shot an even par 72 in the second round of the Notah Begay Junior Golf National Championship, good for a fifth-place finish in the Indiana regional.

Lexi Ray, Jr., Franklin

Ray led the Grizzly Cubs on a historic 2023 campaign. She claimed medalist honors at sectionals, posted an 80 at regionals to help them qualify as a team for the first time in 24 years, then completed her preps season with a 14th-place finish at state. She won the Indiana Girls State Junior championship by two strokes in June.

Taylor Snively, Fr., Zionsville

Reputation precedes the incoming freshman from Zionsville. Snively tied for 21st at the Indiana State Junior Championship, shooting a three-day score of 240 with 10 pars. She led the first round of the Circle K Junior Championship in June and finished third, five strokes off the lead.

Ava South, Jr., Batesville

South maintained her spot in a four-player logjam for second at state, scoring a 73 in the second round to finish 2-over 146. She competed at state as an individual after scoring a 76 at regional.

Addyson Weiler, Sr., Batesville

A three-time state finalist, Weiler recovered from an opening-round 82 with a 72 on day two to finish state in 16th. She tied for 32nd at state junior championship and tied for 15th at the Masters Tour Championship. Weiler is committed to Marian University.

More to watch

Olivia Anderson, Sr., Noblesville

Addison Bright, Jr., Franklin

Peityn Gillman, Sr., Union County

Annabelle Hacker, So., Plainfield

Addison Meadows, Sr., Southmont

Magnolia Miller, Sr., Center Grove

Bree Noll, Sr., Homestead

Clare Tobin, Jr., Penn

Amaya Wade, Jr., Zionsville

Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen .

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana high school girls golfers to watch this fall