January 31, 2025
Girls Golf

Carpenter wins second straight DeKalb Daily Chronicle Girls Golfer of the Year

By JOHN GALLIONE

Matthew Apgar - mapgar@shawmedia.com DeKalb's Emma Carpenter poses for a portrait as the girls golfer player of the year on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017 at the Daily Chronicle in DeKalb. Carpenter also was chosen as the girls golfer of the year in 2016. (Matthew Apgar)

DeKALB – Most people who have been golfing for four years aren’t playing scratch golf on a consistent basis. Emma Carpenter is not like most people.

Although the DeKalb junior missed the state cut by one stroke this year, she still committed to the University of Minnesota and was named the 2017 DeKalb Daily Chronicle Girls Golfer of the Year for the second straight year.

After placing in the Top 10 at the Class 2A State Tournament in 2016, Carpenter stepped up her training a notch. Over the summer, she played in a USGA junior girls amateur, as well as the Illinois Women’s State Amateur Open and the Western Amateur Open.

“I got a glimpse of what is out there in women’s golf,” Carpenter said. “It is a challenge playing with the boys all year long, playing from the men’s tees. I played against some of the best female collegiate golfers in the country this summer. It was an eye-opener for me.”

Carpenter often plays for the DeKalb boys team because they don’t have enough girls players to have a girls team. This presents a unique challenge for her. It amplifies mistakes off the tee, among other things where she may be at a disadvantage in distance.

“I hit anywhere from 260 to 280 off the tee with my driver,” Carpenter said. “For me, a miss in terms of distance is worse than the average male golfer’s miss. I got to a point this year where a lot of coaches from different schools like coming to watch me play with their players. There was a point this year where one coach would bring one of his players with him, watch me tee off, and cheer for me as I outdrove some of the boys.”

After being named to the all-state team her sophomore year, Carpenter experienced a bitter taste, missing the cut to qualify for the state tournament by a single stroke by shooting an 80 at the Class 2A Barrington Sectional. Even through that, Carpenter chose the last hole of her competitive high school season as her crystallizing moment from this season.

“At sectionals, I was one of the last players on the course. On the par five 18th, there were a lot of people in the gallery by the green. On my second shot, I hit a seven iron about half an inch from the hole. I just missed an albatross. I ended up tapping in for an eagle, which game me an 80 for the day. I thought it was going to be good enough to advance to state, but then someone behind me shot a 79.”

The experience is one that Carpenter said that she could learn from, saying that she played the course much too long because she hadn’t practiced much from the ladies tees. Carpenter won’t soon forget this disappointment, but she won’t let it hold her back either.

“I’m going to do a lot of indoor work over the winter,” Carpenter said. “The winter is where I will be able to tighten my swing. When spring hits and all the snow melts, I will be back out there, working on my short game. That’s the stuff you can’t do inside.”

DeKalb golf coach John Cordes has been offering his tutelage since Carpenter started as a freshman back in 2015. While he has seen her improve on the course over the last three seasons, he has also been able to witness her personal growth outside of her swing as well.

“She’s gotten more mature,” Cordes said. “She manages her emotions and game plans. I think she is in better control of that now.”

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Girls golf

POY: Emma Carpenter, jr., DeKalb

Jilliann Headley, jr., Indian Creek – The junior joined the team this year, averageing a 53 and posting a 103 at the Class 1A Oregon Regional.

Allison Ryan, jr., Hinckley-Big Rock – Ryan medaled in four meets this year and helped power the Royals to an undefeated conference record and a Little 10 Conference tournament win as well. She shot an average of a 50 this year.

Gwyn Golembiewski, soph., Sycamore – Golembiewski finished 11th at the Class 2A Sycamore Regional, just missing out on making the sectional after taking ninth in the Northern Illinois Big 12 Tournament. She averaged a 47 on the year.

Allison Yohanan, soph., DeKalb – Like Carpenter, Yohanan played from the men's tees an averaged a 49 on the year. She was also all-conference at the Northern Illinois Big 12 Tournament.

Honorable mention – Andrea Carmona, jr., Indian Creek; Haleigh Peterson, soph., Indian Creek; Hannah Mueller, soph., Genoa-Kingston; Lauren Engel, jr., Hinckley-Big Rock; Avery Zabel, jr., Hinckley-Big Rock, Anais Lawler, jr., Hinckley-Big Rock

• All-area team compiled by Eddie Carifio, ecarifio@shawmedia.com