It’s all starting to come together for Lauren Sewell.
The Kentridge High senior-to-be has been one of the state’s elite golfers for the last few years, but this summer, Sewell clearly is hitting her stride.
Despite blistering conditions that included a record-high heat wave, Sewell continued to burn up the Washington Junior Golf Association (WJGA) circuit during the final week of July. In the midst of the hottest stretch of days the Northwest has seen in years, Sewell handily walked away with the WJGA state title on Aug. 1 at the Glendale Country Club in Bellevue, carding a three-day total of 219, four strokes ahead of Kirkland’s Simone Strauss.
The title, her second WJGA state crown, was another indicator of how well Sewell has played the last several months. In May, Sewell took fourth at the high school state tournament. In July, she qualified for the USGA national tournament in New Jersey and this week will try and continue her torrid pace during an American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) tournament in Wenatchee.
No doubt, Sewell’s game is better than ever.
“I’ve just been trying to keep everything steady, work on everything and fine tune things. I want to feel confident in all areas of my game,” she said. “Right now, I might have struck the ball better at other times, but I think my mental game is at its peak. I am staying in my zone.”
That zone during the state tournament included being in the lead from wire-to-wire, and doing so despite a rather uncomfortable heat wave.
On the tournament’s first day – Wednesday, July 29 – temperatures soared just above triple digits.
“It was kind of hard that first day because it was 103 degrees,” said Sewell, who recently made a verbal commitment to play golf at Oregon State University after her days at Kentridge are through. “That was tough to finish out. I just tried to drink water and not focus on the heat. The heat wasn’t so bad when I was walking down the fairway, but when I was on the green and the sun was beating down, it was tough.
“It was a lot more tiring than other tournaments because of the heat.”
Golfers shot 18 holes each day during the three-day tournament, which was split between the Glendale Country Club and Overlake Golf and Country Club. Sewell carded a one-under-par 72 on both the first and second days and went into the finale leading Strauss by two strokes. Despite carding a 75 on the final day, Sewell was able to keep Strauss at bay for the title.
“This was my last chance (to win state) and it definitely was a big goal,” Sewell said. “I just wanted to finish well, so wining was really cool.”
• ALSO: Kent’s Catherina Li carded a three-day total of 225 to take second place in the 12 and 13-year-old age group. … Kent’s Kent Hagen, a senior-to-be at Kentwood High, took second in the 16 and 17-year-old age group, pocketing a three-day total of 217, just two strokes behind winner Michael Rutledge of Fall City. Kentridge’s Sean McMullen wasn’t far behind Hagen, taking sixth with a 220 while Kentwood’s Thomas Zavada tied for ninth with a 225.
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