News

Starkutė Wins 2022 Women’s State Amateur Stroke Play

By Brandon Genson
AGA Communications Manager

ANTHEM- After three rounds at Anthem Golf and Country Club, Gilė Bitė Starkutė came out on top to win the 2022 Women’s State Amateur Stroke Play Championship, finishing at -5 overall. Starkutė, a University of Arizona Wildcat, finished off the tournament with round three’s lowest score at -2 (69) en route to the win.

With a first-round 67 and third-round 69, the Lithuanian Starkutė posted two of the tournament’s three lowest scores. Those rounds were good enough to overcome the only hiccup of her performance- a second round 75, in which some of the challenges posed by the course got the better of her.

“I want to say the course was challenging enough where if you had a good day, you could shoot really low under par like my first day was -5,” Starkutė said. “But then, it is challenging enough that if you are missing it a little bit off the fairway, you will get in trouble and that’s what happened on day number two.”

Starkutė’s five-shot victory marked her first tournament win in the United States. In the process, she defeated the two-time defending champion, Ashley Menne, who won in 2020 and 2021. Menne finished tied with Nicole Lorup for second at even par overall.

“I hope this is not my last time in the Arizona Stroke Play,” Starkutė said. “It’s great and I hope to come back next year and compete against all these good names.”

In addition to crowning Starkutė as the tournament’s overall champion, Shannon Mason shot even par (74-72-70) throughout to earn the Net Championship. Mason participated in the field division and shot two under par in the final round for a net score of 216.

Full results from the 2022 Women’s State Amateur Stroke Play Championship at Anthem Golf and Country Club can be found by clicking here.