Former Enochs golfer Shawnee Martinez qualifies for U.S. Women’s Amateur

Shawnee Martinez lost her ball but not her focus, and for that reason alone she’s headed to the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship.

The Long Beach State senior shot a par 72 to finish second at the qualifying tournament at Cameron Park Country Club near El Dorado Hills.

Martinez birdied two of the three par 5s and finished with four red numbers in all, offsetting a double bogey at the start.

“I don’t have any words to describe it. I’m just excited and happy,” said Martinez, who will make her U.S. Amateur debut. “My round of qualifying was full of so many emotions.”

It began with disgust.

Martinez opened on the par-5 No. 10 and lost track of her ball off the tee. She was forced to hop into a cart with an official and head back to the tee box. That same official would later award Martinez her qualifying paperwork. She said he was surprised to see her name near the top of the leaderboard.

“He looked at me said, ‘You shot a 72? Wow. That’s so amazing. Great recovery,’” Martinez said. “I surprised everyone. I didn’t have a practice round. I went in blind and had never played there, but I felt really comfortable.

“I wasn’t nervous. I wasn’t scared. I wasn’t worried about not making it. I was just thinking about each individual shot.”

The top eight players in the field advanced to the championship, to be held Aug. 10-16 at Portland (Ore.) Golf Club. Also advancing are Ty Akabane of Danville and Hannah Sodersten of Fresno, who tied for third at 1-over 73; and Menlo Park’s Lila Barton, Pleasanton’s Kortnie Maxoutopoulis, Elk Grove’s Gurman Kaur and Pleasant Hill’s Elizabeth Schultz with matching 2-over 74s.

The championship is widely considered the top tournament for female amateurs in the world, and the field is dominated by teenagers and college-aged players with dreams of playing on the LPGA Tour. The tournament will begin with two rounds of stroke play. The top 64 advance to match play.

Martinez hopes to reach match play. She enjoys the mental battle of the 1-on-1 matchup.

“It’s so much more intense,” she said, “and your focus has to be 100 percent.”

American Kristen Gillman defeated Canadian Brooke Makenzie Henderson 2 up at last year’s championship at Nassau (N.Y.) Country Club. Henderson was one of the top amateurs in the world in 2014.

While Martinez’s health has hindered her impact at Long Beach – she no longer carries her bag, the result of back pain – the three-time Sac-Joaquin Section Masters champion is enjoying a banner summer season. She captured the Sacramento City Women’s Golf Championship on Father’s Day weekend, posting back-to-back 3-under 70s to edge Erika Salinas by a stroke at Bing Maloney Golf Course.

Martinez will travel to Portland with members of the Long Beach program. Teammate Kassidy Teare qualified at Hacienda Golf Club in La Habra, and the twosome will be joined by 49ers coach Joey Cerulle and assistant coach Alexis Edwards.

“My thing is there’s always room for improvement no matter how good I’m playing. I feel pretty comfortable and confident with where my game is right now,” Martinez said. “I would like to maybe straighten out my driver and make more putts, but other than that, I feel pretty confident.”

Oakdale Rotary Junior Classic – Gregori junior Chris Ebster set a blistering pace at the Oakdale Country Club, capturing the Junior Golf Association of Northern California event with a 4-under 68. Ebster edged Modesto Metro Conference rival Daniel Pena of Johansen, who finished the 18-hole tournament at 2 under.

In the spring, Ebster and Pena were the only Stanislaus District golfers to advance to the CIF State Championships. Ebster has reached the state tournament the last two seasons, first as a team with Central Catholic.

On Monday, they were the only golfers at the Rotary Classic to play under par. Ebster’s former teammate at Central Catholic, Matt Robinson, finished third with a par 72. Tyler Ward of Ripon tied for fourth at 1 over. He lost the 14-15 age group title to Kingsburg’s Brian Stark in a playoff.

The JGNCA calendar continues Wednesday and Thursday with the George Maroney Junior at Creekside and Dry Creek in Modesto.

Webb tops at Merced County – Turlock resident and former USC golfer Nick Webb won the Merced County Amateur at Merced Golf and Country Club last weekend. Webb shared the Saturday lead with Barrett McLaughlin and AJ Borges and then survived a Sunday charge by Fresno’s Colby Thomason, posting a 3-over 147. Thomason finished a stroke back, while McLaughlin slipped to third with a 78 on Sunday.

The First Tee yard sale – The First Tee of Central Valley will host a golf equipment yard sale July 25 at Modesto Municipal Golf Course, 400 Tuolumne Blvd. All proceeds will benefit the children of The First Tee program. If you would like to donate new or used equipment, please contact Cathy Mendoza at 209-485-3915 or John Griston at 209-535-2656.

This story was originally published July 14, 2015 at 8:33 PM with the headline "Former Enochs golfer Shawnee Martinez qualifies for U.S. Women’s Amateur."