Walker golfer Evelynn Artieta had a flashback while facing Sophia Macias in the final round of the 98th Louisiana Women’s Amateur Championship last month.
As the pair tore up the course at Beaver Creek, combining for 14 bridies and an eagle in the championship round, Artieta recalled playing with Macias and Maci Williams in the Metro Championships on the same course a couple of years ago.
At that event, Macias shot a 64, Artieta carded a 68, and Williams a 66 with one bogey among the group.
“I have played in a group like that, and again, it was with Sophia,” Artieta said. “We definitely push each other to play our best game whenever we play together, for sure. It really did feel like we were back playing high school golf. We were both a couple of years younger and just making everything. Everything we looked at, it felt like it was going in. It was crazy.”
This time around, Artieta picked up a 3&2 victory over Macias to claim the Women’s Amateur title.
“For the first couple of days, it definitely felt like a fever dream,” Artieta said. “It was crazy because I’ve played in that event so many times. I’ve come close a couple of times, but I’ve never even made it to the finals before this year. I just felt so confident in my game and how I was playing. I was so locked in because the girls that I was playing against are the best in the state, so I knew I was going to have to play some good golf, and that’s what I did – went out there and played my best, and it all fell out how it did.”
“I think it will sink in a little bit more once I see my name on the trophy, and it’s like, ‘Wow, that actually did happen,’” Artieta continued.
Competitors dealt with rain and lighting delays, and Artieta said that added another challenge.
“We had played our U.S. Girls Junior Qualifier there, so I knew it was going to be super wet, and I kind of had a like a ‘practice’ round in the rain, and then we were playing four straight days in the same conditions, so you kind of just get used to it, and you kind of know what kind of shot you’re going to play from each position, so the conditions weren’t really that much of an issue,” she said. “If I was going to say anything kind of like messed me up, it would be the going out and then coming back in and then going out and coming back in – the off and on play.”
“I think that’s the hardest is being able to turn it back on whenever you go back out,” Artieta said. “You’re like, ‘Alright, it’s time to lock in now.’”
Artieta praised the Louisiana Golf Association for keeping the tournament on track with the weather issues.
Another challenge was the stroke play format of the Women’s Amateur.
“This is one of the few tournaments that we play during the year that is match play, so it’s definitely different, but personally, I love match play,” Artieta said. “I love the vibe. I love the way that it’s set up. I like the mental part of it.”
Macias, a Denham Springs native who played at Episcopal in high school and is a member of the Tulane golf team, admitted match play isn’t her strength, but she was pleased with the way she played in the tournament.
“I’m not going to say me and match play have a love-hate relationship going on,” she said. “I guess I could say I hate match play, but I let a lot of things bother me, so I’ve been working on that mentally and focusing on my own game, which is hard to do in match play because it’s the one time in golf you’re going head-to-head with someone. It doesn’t matter what I did all the past days, which I think is always super important. In college tournaments, you have to be super consistent. I’m very happy with the way I played. I was extremely consistent. I think if you kept my score for all the match play rounds, I think it was the exact same score every round, which is always good.”
In the stroke play qualifier, Macias claimed medalist honors after firing a 6 under par 30 over nine holes to earn the No. 1 seed for match play. Artieta said qualifier was shortened to nine holes because of rain.
“The first day, I was playing an insane round of golf,” Macias said. “Everything was so good, and I was 6-under through nine.”
Artieta was the No. 2 seed for match play after posting a 3-under par 33 in the qualifying round and said her goal was to stay steady throughout the tournament.
“Just the mentality going into that (qualifying) is just get in the top 16, play some good golf and see where it falls out, and then when it gets into match play, you just take one match at a time, one hole at a time,” Artieta said. “You don’t want to look too far ahead in the matches because if you look too far ahead, then you’ll miss the match that you’re in right there and then you’ll lose.”
In the first round, Macias scored a 5&3 win over No. 16 Marcella Rabalais of Baton Rouge, while Artieta defeated No. 15 Sydney Moss of Shreveport 3&2.
“It was lots of good competition,” Macias said. “The field was pretty stacked. It was some great rounds of golf.”
Macias notched defeated No. 9 seed Abigail McWilliams 3&2 in the quarterfinals, while Artieta needed 20 holes to pick up a victory over No. 7 Isabella Reeves.
“All of my matches, none of them were easy wins,” Artieta said. “I had to work for all it.”
In the quarterfinals, Artieta was three down after three holes and four down after nine holes.
“She is a stud,” Artieta said of Reeves. “She is so good at golf.”
Artieta said things changed after she had a talk with her dad on the way to hole No. 10.
“I birdie four holes in a row, and then we’re back square,” she said. “That was definitely I think the most mentally challenging match because I had to come back so much and I had to really lock in and really focus, because then we went to extra holes.”
The pair were tied after 18 holes, and Artieta birdied the second playoff hole to pick up the win.
In the semifinals, Macias topped No. 4 seed and defending champion Jade Neves 1up, while Artieta got a 2&1 win over No. 3 seed Williams.
“After the rain delay, I played the last few holes of the semifinal match barefoot, so that’s always fun,” Macias said with a laugh. “Because of the rain, my feet were all cut up from the shoes. It wasn’t ideal conditions.”
That set up some phenomenal golf from Macias and Artieta in the final round.
Both players had par on the first hole, and Artieta got an eagle on No. 2, a par 5, to go ahead for good. Artieta was 2 up after three holes before both players went birdie-par-birdie on the next three.
Artieta led 2 up after nine holes, and both players birdied holes 10, 11 and 13 and hit par on 12 and 14. Artieta birdied No. 15, a par 3, to go 3 up. Both players made par on No. 16, a par 4, to give Artieta the match 3&2.
“It really could have gone either way,” Artieta said. “It really just one of those matches where we weren’t missing shots. There was not a single bogey in our group. We were literally just winning with birdies. It was insane.”
Macias praised Artieta’s performance.
“She deserves the win,” Macias said. “She played great. I’m very, very proud of her.”
“I mean, I did leave some strokes out there, but I played amazing,” Macias said. “She was making everything. She played insane. It was awesome to watch. I think that’s what Louisiana needs more of. I haven’t played a tournament, especially when I was in junior golf, that was at that level before. This is really good to see. All of these girls are extremely good.”
Artieta went into the Louisiana Women’s Amateur Championship after playing in the U.S. Girls Junior Amateur qualifier earlier in the week. Artieta was 3-under through 10 holes when action was rained out. She bogeyed the last hole, finishing 2-under par 70, missing the spot by one shot to become first alternate.
“I didn’t have any confidence lost … because I really just played really solid that day too, but the girl who qualified, Lucy (Cook), she just played 4 under the last seven holes. That’s hard to beat there. I have been wanting to win the Women’s Am. I mean, who doesn’t want to win the Women’s Am? I felt comfortable at the golf course. I felt comfortable with how I’d been playing. I just overall felt really confident going into that tournament.”
Walker golf coach Chuck Autrey caddied for Artieta on Tuesday, June 16 at the United States Junior Amateur qualifier, which was also held at Beaver Creek.
“We’ve got a good working relationship,” Autrey said. “She doesn’t question me as far as reading greens. I just kind of keep her comfortable. She’s a great player. I don’t have to do anything. Corey Artieta, her dad, has done a fantastic job of putting her in the mental headspace to be able to compete at the level she is right now. I just kind of help her through and kind of talk her through some shots.”
Artieta, who is going into her senior year at Walker, recently committed to Dallas Baptist University, and she said that’s helped her game.
“So the Women’s Am and the (U.S.) qualifier, those were actually, my first tournaments after I committed, so you can kind of see the pressure release that had been lifted off my shoulders and the kind of golf I was able to play after I committed and after I was like, ‘OK, yeah. I am good enough. This is where I’m meant to be. This is the golf I was meant to play.’ It just took me to get that pressure lifted off my shoulders before I could really do it,” she said.
She said committing has also taken some stress off heading into her senior year.
“I’m just going to have fun and enjoy it,” Artieta said. “Enjoy my team, enjoy my friends before I leave to go six and a half hours from home.”
One of Artieta’s main reasons for committing to Dallas Baptist comes from the opportunity to play for coach Kenny Trapp.
“I felt like he really saw my worth in who I am as a golfer and how I play golf,” she said. “Even though my scores might not be the best, but he definitely sees me as more than a score. I know that’s what a lot of people say when they look for a coach, but it really was part of the factor of why I picked this school because he is just such a great coach and he really does see my worth in more than just a score and sees what I can improve in. I think he just knows that I can be better and knows that he can help me be better.”
Autrey has high hopes for Artieta’s college career.
“She’s going to be an incredible college player,” Autrey said.
“She drives the ball so straight,” he continued. “I feel like she was an aggressive player her first two years in her high school career, and this year, (I told her), course management is going to get you to the level you want to be at. She wants to play on TV, and I think she can do it. She’s really worked on her course management. Her distance control on her irons are as good as I’ve seen out of any high school player in the last 20 years.”
Macias came away from the Louisiana Women’s Amateur Championship focused on her health, both physically and mentally.
“I’ve had a great summer,” Macias said. “I went and got cupping done, which I think helped a lot. I’m in the training room a lot, so they know me pretty well now. I’m just getting stronger. I think taking care of your body is always a priority as an athlete, so that’s definitely important. I’ve also been making sure to practice a lot, all that good stuff, so when the season does roll around in the fall, I think I’ll be more than ready.”
“These past few months, I’ve really made it a priority to focus on my mental game, work on things like that, really doing things intentionally rather than just going through the motions, because it’s really easy to do on the golf course,” Macias continued. “You get in your own head and just hitting whatever … but it really is important to get up there and be like, ‘This is my target. This is where I’m going. This is how I’m going to hit it,’ and you give yourself a goal for every shot.”
In her first season at Tulane, Macias competed in nine tournaments, playing 26 rounds. Her best finish was a tie for third at The Judson with a three-round score of 212 (-3). She had seven rounds under par, including a 68 (-4) in the first round of The Judson.
She was also named to the starting lineup for the American Conference Championship, where she had the only round under par for the Green Wave, with a 69 (-3) in the second round.
Macias is looking to build on her summer effort as she prepares for her next season of college golf.
“Really making it a priority to put your mental health and your health first will show in your game, which I think is kind of how it’s been the past month. I’ve been playing amazing golf,” Macias said, noting she shot 2-under during a recent practice outing. “It’s kind of heading in the right direction, which is very exciting. I think golf is one of those sports where it’s easy to get burnt out, so sometimes I think you just have to realize that sometimes your body needs a break, you’re brain needs a break, especially with golf. At the end of the day, you can say it’s a game, but obviously it means more. But it is a game. We’re just out there to have fun, and I think that’s been the biggest lesson this past year for me.”
“No one wants to lose, but it does teach you things,” Macias said. “I think I’ve done a lot of growth mentally as a player this year and over the summer, and I think that will show in the fall.”
