Elletts start summer with challenge

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Taylor and Connie Ellett didn’t think there could be a better way to kick off their summer than with one of the more difficult golf tournaments the sisters could find.

The Elletts, who have dominated the golf program at Hampshire for the past few seasons, chose the Illinois Women’s State Amateur last week and finished with encouraging results against a field that ranged from college players to middle-aged women at Flossmoor Country Club.

Taylor, who will be a senior in the fall, finished 15th overall in the 80-player tournament that was formatted with a stroke-play qualifying round followed by flights of match play. Ellett’s 83 on June 8 during stroke play was one of the 32 lowest scores on the par-74 course and earned her a slot in the championship flight during match play.

Connie, a junior, narrowly missed the championship flight, shooting an 86 during stroke play. She was seeded seventh in the first flight of match play and won her first-round match before bowing out of the tournament in the semifinal round June 10.

It was the best field the girls ever have played against, Taylor said.

“It was interesting to see how I measured up to those other players, especially the college players,” Taylor said.

Flossmoor Country Club was playing about 6,000 yards, Taylor said, so she relied on a sharp short game to get her through stroke play.

“That first day I chipped and putted really well and was consistent off the greens,” Taylor said. “It really was what ended up saving me because I didn’t drive very well.”

Connie had a similar problem.

“I didn’t strike well enough in the first round, so it became about how I could come from behind,” she said.

The sisters had experienced caddies to help them develop a game plan, too.

Their parents, Sue and Doug, who played college golf at Northern Illinois, were on the bag for the girls all week.

“She did a really nice job,” Taylor said of her mom. “It was nice to have her there, especially because one of the days we had some rain and she kept my clubs dry and was there to encourage me. If I didn’t hit a shot very well she’d say, ‘That’s OK, just get the next one.’ The help around the course, too, was just really nice to have.”

The sisters will enter their second tournament this summer on Thursday in the Illinois Junior Golf Association’s Prairie Isle regional at Prairie Isle Golf Club in Prairie Grove.