Colorado State University golfers Katrina Prendergast and Ellen Secor erased a 2-down deficit with four to play to defeat Lei Ye and Yachun Chang, 1 up in the 18-hole final match.

Colorado State women’s golf coach Annie Young knows what it feels like to win a USGA championship. Then Annie Thurman, a standout player at Oklahoma State University, she won the 2002 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship at Sunriver (Ore.) Resort. Now a couple of her talented players, Katrina Prendergast and Ellen Secor, a junior and sophomore, respectively, are two matches away from winning one of their own. By defeating Katherine Gravel-Coursol and Paige Nelson, 1 up, in the quarterfinals of the 4th U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship on Tuesday afternoon, Prendergast and Secor advanced to face Megan Furtney and reigning U.S. Girls’ Junior champion Erica Shepherd in the semifinals at 7 a.m. PDT on Wednesday at El Caballero Country Club.   After consecutive 4-and-2 wins in their two preceding matches, Prendergast and Secor, who reached the Round of 16 in the championship last year at The Dunes Golf & Beach Club in Myrtle Beach, S.C., continued their strong momentum from their morning match, grabbing a 3-up lead after just five holes. Meet the 2018 Semifinalists “Yeah, that was crazy,” said Secor, 20, of Portland, Ore. “I actually turned to my dad (her caddie) and I was like, are we actually 3 up because it just didn't feel like it. Me and Kate P. were just kind of playing our B-plus games. But to know that we had that 3-up lead in our back pocket, that was really big.” But they were facing a side that had already needed five playoff holes just to get into the draw and had eliminated the top seeds on Monday. That 3-up lead disappeared, thanks to consecutive birdies on Nos. 12 and 13 and a winning par on the 14th hole that squared the match. The teams then exchanged birdies over the next two holes before Secor made a 15-foot birdie putt on 17 to gain a 1-up lead. Both she and Prendergast, 20, of Sparks, Nev., hit stellar approaches on 18 to within 15 feet to seal the victory. “We've never been down in this championship, so the fact that we were really close to being 1 down, I don't think we ever got worried,” said Secor. “Sixteen, 17 and 18 we knew were gettable holes, so when it got to all square after 14, I put in my mind this is a gettable course and we can beat this team on these last four holes. I think we stuck with our game plan and kind of stayed within ourselves.” Back in Fort Collins, Colo., Young was following the match online while preparing to travel with the duo this weekend to the NCAA Regionals in Austin, Texas, where they are competing as individuals. Colorado State didn’t qualify as a team. Despite her players' hectic schedule, Young supported their decision to compete in the championship. “I don’t think you can prepare in any better way than staying fresh and competing,” said Young. “They’re young, they’ll get rested. We’ve got final exams coming up too, so they will have their plate full. But I think anytime you can play in a USGA championship you need to do it. “They've kind of been the glue of our team. We've built this program to where we want to compete nationally, and those were the two recruits who I felt could change this program when I signed them. They've done a great job. I don't they have quite touched their full potential yet, which is good. They work hard and know how to play under pressure."

Bio information on the four sides who have advanced to the semifinals of the 4th U.S. Women's Amateur Four-Ball Championship

The members of El Caballero Country Club have been gracious hosts for the 4th U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship. But one has gone above and beyond: Dan Schindler. The reigning senior club champion, who also won the club championship in 2011, has not only hosted the side of Katherine Gravel-Coursol and Paige Nelson at his home, he has carried both of their bags through two practice rounds, two stroke-play rounds, which included five playoff holes to secure the 32nd and final spot in the draw, and three matches. Oh, and he had never caddied before this week. “Some of my friends at the club offered to carry one of the bags today, but I just don’t want to change the mojo,” said Schindler, who earned the nickname Duracell back in his school days, a nod to his energetic presence. “The girls are happy where they are. I just want them to enjoy themselves, do their thing and not get flustered. It’s worked so far, why change it?” “He’s really quick,” said Nelson, laughing. “We don’t move fast enough for him.” Gravel-Coursol and Nelson advancing to the quarterfinals is due in no small part to Schindler’s extensive local knowledge, especially on the undulating and fast greens that were rolling 12.5 feet on the Stimpmeter on Tuesday morning. “At these speeds, and with these undulations, you have to know where to hit it. Just getting the line, or just getting the speed, doesn’t do it. You have to get them both. I don’t think anybody [in the championship] is used to playing greens of this caliber. They don’t believe it’s going to break so much or go so fast.” The 53-year-old Schindler, who owns a Handicap Index® of +1.2, joined El Caballero in 2008. He’s a native of England, where he won three club championships at Coombe Hill Golf Club near London. Currently on a work sabbatical through the end of the year – he co-founded Donuts Inc., the world’s largest registry for new top-level internet domain addresses, in 2010 – Schindler has plenty of time for golf. “I want to play some tournament golf myself and I’m not going to do that when I’m older,” he said. “I’ll do that now and then go back to work later.” His current short-term plan is to hopefully lead Gravel-Coursol and Nelson to their own championship at El Caballero. “This is a big event, he said. “It would be great to win. It’s like everything in sport though, one shot at a time.” Arizona resident Tom Mackin is a frequent contributor to USGA websites. Email him at temackinjr@gmail.com.

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