As the sun was setting down along the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday afternoon, Scotts Valley senior Lauren Ohlsson was prepping her Thoroughbred horse Bones on what turned out to be her final ride on the golf course.
The Falcons’ top golfer shot a 92 while earning medalist honors en route to capturing the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League Girls Golf Championship at DeLaveaga Golf Course in Santa Cruz. Aptos’ Emily Fassio (94) took second, while teammate Lemi Anastasopoulos (100) placed third.
Since her freshman year in 2022, Ohlsson and Scotts Valley have never endured a defeat in league play.
“It feels really good,” she said. “I’m happy we were undefeated all four years of high school, so I’m really proud of myself for that. And playing good throughout the season.”
Scotts Valley’s Lizzy Goldfield shot a 104, followed by teammate Zoe Robbins (105) and Campbell Flores (128).
“We had some beginners and they stepped up, really improved over the season,” Scotts Valley head coach Anders Ohlsson said. “I was super proud of the whole team.”
Next up, the Central Coast Section Girls Golf Championships at Laguna Seca Golf Ranch in Monterey on Nov. 4.
However, the Falcons opted not to compete since both Lauren and Anders Ohlsson will not be in town next week. Instead, Aptos will represent the SCCAL with pride.
“I’m a little bummed out that I can’t play,” Lauren Ohlsson said.
Other finishers in Tuesday’s tourney included Aptos’ Addie Burgess (127), Dakota Bamford (139) and Rose Perkins (186).
Olivia Strusis-Bregante (133) was Harbor’s lone participant, while Soquel was led by Joey Burgos (104), Aeva Osborne (126) and Chelsea Myers (146).
It took nearly six hours for groups to complete all 18 holes, which a majority of the players aren’t used to.
“That’s hard for some people, and it’s hard for me to wait,” Lauren Ohlsson said. “I guess I like to be fast.”
Ohlsson, who shot an average score of 28.7 over six holes this season, tallied a 44 on the front nine holes, giving her a one-stroke lead over Fassio.
“This course is kind of tough, a little narrow and a lot of places you can miss,” Ohlsson said.
Ohlsson mentioned there were some nerves to start, but she wound up hitting her drives pretty well even though the put game was a little off.
“I four-putted on a few holes, and that’s not a good look. Usually I’m two puts or less,” she said. “I’m nervous and I’m comparing myself to the other players, trying to do better. That sets me back a little bit.”
Ohlsson was getting constant updates from her dad, Anders, and even received a text message telling her to play it safe on the 16th hole. The friendly advice and newsbits wound up being a distraction.
“I need to not know about the other scores, and then I can play my own game and really focus,” Lauren Ohlsson said.
Ohlsson’s biggest setback occurred on the 17th hole after it took her nine shots to sink the ball. She began with a great drive out of the tee, but then her second shot went out of bounds, causing a sense of panic.
“I started freaking out,” she said. “I dropped my ball and took a penalty. I didn’t even care at that point, and then I hit it really bad. I should have just brushed it off and forgotten about that. Just move on.”
Ohlsson managed to move past the small blunder by sealing the victory on the 18th and final hole. She was on the green in two shots, and three-putted for a 5, taking the win by two strokes.
“Lauren almost handed it away on the 17th hole with a nine,” Anders Ohlsson said. “But then she came back with a five and clinched it by two strokes. So that was cool.”
Scotts Valley won the SCCAL regular season title after it finished with an 8-0 record in league matches, including a pair of forfeit wins against San Lorenzo Valley.
Santa Cruz did not have enough players to field a team this season, marking it a second-consecutive year without one. That meant each team played a total of just six matches this season.
“Which is a really low number,” Anders Ohlsson said. “It would be great to have a sixth team as part of the league because then we’d play 12 matches instead of six like everybody else does. But, it is what it is.”
And despite what felt like a shortened campaign, Ohlsson said all five Falcon golfers responded like champions.
“Everybody showed up to every practice, showed up to every match,” he said. “They’re putting in the work and showing up.”
