A rare amateur group in this week’s Babe Zaharias Open might have also been the most chatty on the course at Beaumont Country Club.
Recent Hardin-Jefferson graduate Makenna Henry, Little Cypress-Mauriceville senior Montana Di Leo and Lamar University junior Alessia Trebbi-Tindall couldn’t help but converse as they navigated the familiar course. Instead of buckling under the pressure of a professional tournament, the three amateurs were playing loose and having fun.
“You could probably hear us five fairways down,” Di Leo said.
The local trio got an “invaluable” chance to play in a Women’s All Pro Tour event as the Babe Zarharias Open returned to Beaumont for a second straight year. Henry and Di Leo knew each other well from the high school circuit, while Trebbi-Tindall was the elder outsider of the group at first.
However, it didn’t take long for all three to fit right in together.
“I feel like I’ve known them for a lot longer than three days,” Trebbi-Tindall said. “It was really good to have that atmosphere. It helps your golf game more than you realize.”
The local amateurs gained entry into the tournament through sponsor invites. For Henry, who will soon head off to Midwestern State, playing in the tournament helped prepare her for what’s to come in college. Longer courses will be more common at the next level, but it’s the short game that will be the focus of her training moving forward.
In addition to being an all-state golfer, Henry was also a key contributor on the Hardin-Jefferson girls basketball team that played for a state championship last season. She chose to focus on golf, and got an up-close-and-personal glimpse this week of what life as a professional might be like.
Henry, Di Leo and Trebbi-Tindall would often find themselves picking the brains of the professionals in the clubhouse.
Leaderboard:
Player |
Total |
Round1 |
Round2 |
Round 3 |
Kaityln Papp- Austin, Texas |
-12 |
68 |
71 |
65 |
Sofia Garcia- Texas |
-9 |
71 |
66 |
70 |
Greta Isabella Voelker- Florida |
-7 |
69 |
72 |
68 |
Pauline del Rosario- Philippines |
-7 |
68 |
70 |
71 |
Babe Liu- Haltom, Texas |
-6 |
73 |
70 |
67 |
Alice Duan- Nevada |
-6 |
69 |
72 |
69 |
Valentina Haupt- Weston, Fl |
-5 |
71 |
71 |
69 |
Ana Paula Valdes- Mexico |
-4 |
73 |
70 |
69 |
Gabriella Then- California |
-4 |
70 |
68 |
74 |
Grace Kim- Sydney |
-3 |
73 |
68 |
72 |
Julie Houston- Allen, Texas |
-3 |
71 |
70 |
72 |
Ginger Howard- Florida |
-2 |
74 |
72 |
68 |
Abegail Arevalo- Paranaque, Philippines |
-2 |
72 |
68 |
74 |
Hannah Arnold- Lufkin, Texas |
-1 |
73 |
73 |
69 |
Marissa Kirkwood- New Castle, Pennsylvania |
-1 |
69 |
74 |
72 |
Brenda Gonzalez- Torreon, Mexico |
-1 |
67 |
76 |
72 |
Kaeli Jones- Sumterville, Florida |
E |
71 |
73 |
72 |
Jordy LaBarbera- Allen, Texas |
E |
72 |
71 |
73 |
Nicole Budnik- The Woodlands, Texas |
+2 |
74 |
73 |
71 |
Annika Clark- Highlands, Texas |
+2 |
70 |
74 |
74 |
Sydney Youngblood- Durant, Oklahoma |
+2 |
76 |
69 |
73 |
Tara Finigan- Austin, Texas |
+3 |
73 |
75 |
71 |
Molly Skapik- Miamisburg, Ohio |
+4 |
76 |
73 |
71 |
Sarah Brown- Mount Pleasant, Texas |
+4 |
73 |
77 |
70 |
Katherine Smith- Detroit Lakes, Minnesota |
+4 |
74 |
72 |
74 |
Jessica Porvasnik- Hinckley, Ohio |
+4 |
74 |
70 |
76 |
Kenzie Wright- Texas |
+4 |
69 |
75 |
76 |
“Meeting other people and learning about their journey, I found that really interesting,” said Henry, who finished 32 over par during her three rounds combined.
Di Leo still has another year at LC-M before starting her collegiate career. She’s already accomplished plenty for the Bears, including a top-10 finish at this year’s Class 4A state golf championship.
Di Leo shot the best score of the three local amateurs, finishing 18 over par.
“Now it’s just playing a lot of tournaments and getting my name out to colleges,” she said.
As for Lamar’s Trebbi-Tindall, she was the most familiar with the course, having played it plenty of times with the Cardinals. It was configured a bit different than usual for professional play, but that didn’t bother her much.
Former Lamar golfer Julie Aime won last year’s Babe Zaharias Open. Trebbi-Tindall didn’t get the chance to talk to Aime before the event, but still relished the chance to carry on Lamar’s connection with the tournament.
“I haven’t seen Julie around here a lot since it’s the summer,” Trebbi-Tindall said. “I think she’s off doing bigger things now.”
Trebbi-Tindall, who shot 21 over par through three rounds at the tournament, plans to stick around Beaumont as she prepares for her junior year at Lamar. The London, England native was a third-team All-Southland selection last season and led Lamar with a stroke average of 78.11.
“It’s not every day that you get a chance to play with the pros like this, so big thanks to the Women’s All Pro Tour for allowing the amateurs to have a go at it,” Trebbi-Tindall said. “They put on a really good tournament and it was fun playing with (Henry and Di Leo) as well.”
The tournament will continue on Friday with the championship round. Austin native Kaitlyn Papp currently has a three-stroke lead at 12 under par.
mfaye@beaumontenterprise.com
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