CANAAN VALLEY, W.Va. — Hurricane’s Savannah Hawkins and Oceana’s Kerri-Anne Cook separated themselves from the field after two rounds in the WVGA Girls Junior Amateur Championship at Canaan Valley Resort. The recent high school graduates took the course in their final matchup at the junior level with each starting the day at 6-over par and 21 shots ahead of their nearest competitors.
Hawkins used a run of three consecutive birdies on the 6th, 7th and 8th holes to win her third Junior Amateur title while posting a tournament-best round of 69. The Marshall University signee closed the 54-hole event at 3-over par, three shots clear of Cook.
Hawkins’ birdie run late in the front nine turned a one-shot deficit into a three-shot lead, and she was able to hold the advantage the rest of the way.
“All week I was struggling with my irons a little bit. I think on those three holes, it just kind of clicked with my swing. And then my putter got hot. That’s how golf goes,” Hawkins said.
Twice on the back nine, Cook crept within two shots of Hawkins. Cook made birdie on the 14th hole to pull within a pair of shots. After Hawkins’ tee shot on the 15th hole sailed well right of the fairway, she found an opening through the trees to stick an approach shot within a few feet of the hole. Hawkins made birdie to rebuild a three-shot edge.
“I had an opening. It was kind of over a little tree but I used the wind a little bit to help my ball get over to the right. You had to play around the wind. It was tough this week.”
Cook once again crept within two shots with a birdie on the 17th hole. However, Hawkins clinched the tournament with a 100-yard approach shot that rolled up to within two feet of the cup. Hawkins made her seventh birdie of the day to close out the tournament.
“I took a whole club down because I just thought with wind, back pin, any adrenaline. But I was fortunate enough that it rolled up there.”
Hawkins also won the 2020 and 2022 Junior Amateur titles while Cook won in 2021 and 2023.
“It is a marathon with three days of golf. I tried not to get ahead of myself and just stay one shot at a time. That helps me focus.
“It is my last major as a junior. So it was a really special one to be able to pull through.”
Williamstown’s Madilyn Buttrey and Charleston’s Scarlett Albertson finished tied for third place at 36-over.