SACRAMENTO, Calif. – St. Francis freshman Arden Han-Wei fired an even-par 72 to finish in a tie for third place in the third and final Delta League girls' golf center tournament, hosted by Sheldon at WildHawk Golf Club Monday. The Troubadours finished third in the event with 426 strokes, clinching one of the league's three spots in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section postseason.
Pleasant Grove, crowned after the tourney as the 2022 league champion, easily won with 357 strokes. Franklin finished second at 423, just three strokes ahead of the Troubies. Davis placed fourth with 463, with Sheldon behind in fifth at 517. Cosumnes Oaks and Elk Grove only fielded individuals, shy of the minimum of five for team qualification.
Additionally, Han-Wei and SFHS senior Julia Geer finished first and third in the Delta League's final rankings. Han-Wei garnered Player of the Year honors, while Geer repeated her All-Delta League accolades. The league championships, individual rankings and CIF-SJS qualifications are based on a combination of the three center tournaments plus the aggregate of all dual matches during the season.
Monday's tourney was unusual in that all players opened on the back nine, then finished on the front at WildHawk. Han-Wei birdied 11 and 15, two short par-4 holes, to begin her round. She later carded a birdie 4 on the course's longest hole, the 430-yard third.
Geer finished second among the Troubies with an 82, overcoming a 44 on the first nine holes by finishing 2-over-par on the final nine – including a birdie on the ad hoc home hole. Olivia Lee and Aja Garcia followed with totals of 85 and 90, respectively, with Chelsea McMahon rounding out the team total with a 97. Junior Bani Chauhan added a 104 as SF's No. 6 scorer.
Han-Wei's 72 matched that of Alaythia Hinds and Petra Yee of Pleasant Grove, plus Sam Kaur of Franklin. Gianna Singh won the individual medalist with her 4-under 68, with PG teammate Sophia Cook close behind at 70.
In the league's final scoring, Han-Wei edged Singh 174.5 to 169.5 points for the Player of the Year race. Geer was third with 157, followed by Davis' Saera Ohja (152), PG's Hannah Camara (143), CO's Jahzara Vang (143), Franklin's Leia Dalisay (139.5), Yee (139), Kaur (138) and Cook (137.5).
The Delta League will officially release its full slate of honors at the conclusion of all fall sports. However, the league banner and All-League patches were distributed following the conclusion of Monday's action.
The Sac-Joaquin Section Division I championship tourney takes place at Timber Creek Golf Club in Roseville on Tuesday, October 25. Please note that this is a change from previous schedules, which listed the tourney on Monday. The top six teams plus nine individuals will advance to the section Masters Tournament in Stockton on October 31. A complete tourney format – including rules for spectators – can be found at cifsjs.org.
