Like her older sister — in whose basement she’s living this summer — Amy Hodgkins now owns a CGA women’s major title as she wins CGA Women’s Amateur
By Gary Baines
LOVELAND — Perhaps it should be considered a career Sister Slam.
At least regarding the two events considered CGA women’s open-age major championships.
Six years ago, University of Colorado golfer Kirsty Hodgkins (now Kirsty Hodgkins-Redner) won the CGA Women’s Match Play. (For the record, she also claimed the CGA Women’s Mid-Amateur title last year.)
Then on Wednesday at Mariana Butte Golf Course, Amy Hodgkins, Kirsty’s younger sister by seven years, earned the victory win in the 79th CGA Women’s Amateur. So, at least regarding this particular Sister Act, the two natives of Australia have put together an All in the Family sweep of the CGA women’s majors.
And they both got to enjoy the moment as Kirsty was competing in the Mid-Am at the same site this week; she finished tied for second in her title defense.
“It’s so awesome” to both be CGA women’s major champs, Amy said. “It’s so cool that I can come here and go practice with her and share all the fun stuff like this. It’s so nice to be here and have someone else doing it with me. I’m lucky.”
Hodgkins raised a trophy in her first time competing in a CGA championship.
Amy was competing in her first CGA championship but she’s certainly no stranger to them as she’s serving a three-month summer internship with the association this year. During those three months, she’s living in the basement of her sister’s house in Lafayette, not far from where Kirsty went to school and played golf at CU.
“Usually I go home during the summertime, but I thought I’d stay because my sister lives here,” Amy said. “This is our first time living together in like 10 years. But I love it here. It’s awesome. I love the mountains and the elevation.
As for Kirsty, “she’s the reason I play golf,” Amy noted. “I was like, ‘I just want to do what my big sister does,’ and so I just started playing golf. Then I got a bit more serious in high school, and then I came over here. And she did the college thing, so I did the college thing, and it’s all worked out.”
Amy (right) shares a laugh with older sister Kirsty (left), the 2020 CGA Match Play champion.
Amy followed in Kirsty’s footsteps in playing college golf in the U.S., though not at the same school. Amy competed at Northern Arizona University the last three years and is transferring to the University of Louisville (Ky.), where she’ll have two more years of eligibility. In March, Amy recorded her first college individual victory as she prevailed in NAU’s Red Rocks Invitational.
At Mariana Butte, the younger Hodgkins trailed by one entering the final round, but the 21-year-old who grew up in the Brisbane area birdied the 14th and 15th holes from about 15 feet en route to a 2-under-par 70 in the final round. Her 4-under 212 total for three days was good for a two-stroke victory over former Colorado junior golf standout Ashleigh Wilson of Highlands Ranch and Angela Zhang of Bellevue, Wash., a member of the U.S. National Junior Team the last three years who will play her college golf at the University of Southern California.
Ashleigh Wilson of Highlands Ranch had a strong week, tying for second place.
Placing fourth on a bunched leaderboard was Team USA elite junior squad member Tess Morris of Franktown (-1). Elle Higgins of Centennial, a University of Wyoming golfer who was runner-up in the CGA Women’s Match Play this year, finished fifth at even par.
The bottom line is, Amy Hodgkins claimed the title in a CGA women’s major in her first time competing in one of the association’s championships. “That’s good odds,” she said with a smile.
U.S. National Junior Team veteran Angela Zhang also shared second place.
In recent years, a victory in the CGA Women’s Amateur has also come with a berth in the U.S. Women’s Amateur. That normally would have been very welcome as Hodgkins has never played in the USWA — as she’s usually in Australia when qualifying takes place. And this year when she did try to qualify at Broadlands Golf Course in Broomfield, she finished first alternate. But just last week, she found out that she’d gotten a spot in the national championship off the alternate list. So the berth awarded at the CGA Women’s Amateur turned out to be unnecessary in her case as she was already headed to the USWA, which is set for Aug. 4-9 in Ooltewah, Tenn.
“Now I feel a little bit guilty (as the berth is non-transferable), but at least I proved to myself that I deserve to go, so that is kind of nice,” Hodgkins said.
Given Hodgkins’ experience in college, she had a good feeling going into this week that she could make a run at the state amateur title.
“I think I knew I could be competitive because a lot of these girls I’ve played with in college events” she said. “It’s also my week off work, so I thought I may as well make the most of it. No expectations, but that probably helped me a little bit.”
Team Colorado member Tess Morris claimed fourth place on Wednesday.
Hodgkins gave herself permission to look on the online leaderboard only once on Wednesday, and she did so on the 18th hole, when she had a two-stroke lead.
“I thought, ‘Just let’s make par (at 18) and then get out and hope that it’s enough,” she recalled. And it was.
Wilson, a member of the inaugural Team Colorado (2024-25), just finished her freshman year on the Montana State golf team.
Though the 19-year-old from Highlands Ranch obviously was hoping for a victory on Wednesday, she was pleased with her runner-up showing given the many college players and other high-level players in the field.
“It’s a huge accomplishment,” she said. “Of course, I wanted to win, but there’s a lot of great girls in this field — girls that I’ve played with in college, girls that are going into college, some that just graduated — from all over the country. These girls are amazing. It feels a lot like a college event, to be honest.
“I feel good. I dropped a lot of important putts that needed to be made. I was not as great in other areas, but I had a great week.”
Elle Higgins posted top-5 finishes in both the CGA Women’s Match Play and Amateur this year.
On the CGA Women’s Stroke Play trophy, Hodgkins’ name will go alongside those of some very formidable players, including four-time LPGA Tour winner Jennifer Kupcho (winner of state am in 2015, ’16 and ’17) and Lauren Howe (1975), who’s also claimed victory in an LPGA event.
Meanwhile in the other CGA women’s amateur championships on the line at Mariana Butte, claiming victories on Wednesday were Alison O’Connor of Windsor (82-82-78 for a 26-over-par total for three rounds in the gross division) and Lora Fioretti of Berthoud (72-71-75 for a 2-over total in the net division).
For all the results from the CGA Women’s Amateur, CLICK HERE.
Some interested spectators/fellow competitors watch as the leaders finish up on Wednesday.
About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com