PHS' Holmes lands 12th at girls' state golf meet

A year ago, Princeton High School senior Gwen Holmes wasn’t playing golf. Instead, she was digging up volleyballs instead of hitting tee shots.

On Saturday, she picked up a 12th-place finish in the 1A state meet at Hickory Hills Golf Center in Carbondale. She saved her best golf for last, shooting a season-best 38 on the back 9, the third best round of the day, to finish with a two-day total of 168.

“Gwen had never broken 40 this season. She does it on the back nine of the state finals. Incredible,” PHS coach Roger Lowe said.

Holmes far exceeded any expectations she had coming in.

“I played a practice round with (state champion) Gigi (DiGrazia) and I was just hoping to shoot under 100 both days,” Holmes said. “She was very intimidating, the course was very intimidating.  I certainly never would have thought I’d be 12th. I was hoping to not be in the last 10. I was just ecstatic to be there at all.”

Lowe was not surprised, knowing Holmes’ competitive spirit and drive for success.

“I have always said that if you put a competitive person into a competitive situation, they will flourish,” he said. “Gwen was in tears on Thursday at the practice round because she was afraid that she was not going to be good enough to compete at the talent level at state. She also cried after she walked off of the 18th green on Saturday because she knew that she could and did.”

Holmes was smoking on the back 9, carding a 2-over 38 backed by three birdies and two par. She hit five of seven fairways and was on four greens in regulation.

Her 38 was topped by only two other golfers and was two strokes better than the state champion, GiGi DiGrazia of Addison Driscoll.

She birdied the 350-yard 12th hole, and after parring the 13th hole, she came back with another birdie 3 on the 301-yard 14th hole for even par through the first four holes on the back 9.

After a stumble on the par 5, 15th hole with a double bogey and a bogey on No. 16, Holmes recovered nicely with a par on the 17th hole.

And on the 18th and final hole, playing in front of a large gallery of family members who made the trip south, Holmes knocked in a 30-foothill downhill putt for birdie on the 300-yard par 4 hole.

“It was right off the fringe, so I couldn’t mark it or anything,” she said. “It was a good 35-40 foot and wanted to get it somewhere near the hole and it went in. I had them leave the pin in, and if I hadn’t had them do that, it may have gone out the back side.”

She attributed that birdie putt and the 15-20 foot birdie putt on No. 12 to luck, but said, “I supposed, it could be more.”

Holmes found it ironic her putting game was a strength for her when it counted the most.

“My putter was probably my best asset on Saturday. I hadn’t really thought of my putter as my friend before the state tournament,” she said.

She also had no complaints about her driver.

“My driver was being nice to me as well,” she said. “I hit everything straight off the tee, so that was good. There was a lot of water and trees basically every where.”

Holmes had four pars on the front side but was unable to make up any ground with no birdies. She checked in with a 7-over 43.

Holmes said it was neat to have her  own little cheering section with her parents, Everett and Vicki, and her three brothers, Nathan, Aaron and Jordan along with several cousins.

DiGrazia won her second straight state title with a score of 147, five strokes ahead of runner-up Katie Jean of Champaign St. Thomas-More.

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