The Ducks left Boulder, Colorado on April 22 in second place. For seniors Cali Hipp, Cassy Isagawa and Monica Petchakan, their run as college golfers came to an end.
Under head coach Ria Scott, Isagawa has been in the women’s record book since she took her first swing as a Duck in 2011. Isagawa currently holds the first (2011-12 with an average of 33), second (2012-13 with an average of 36) and third (2013-14 with an average of 38) spots for season scoring averages. Isagawa can also be found in numerous other spots. Isagawa has earned the Renee Mack Award for the player of the year in the 2012 and 2013 seasons. Hipp has won the NGCA All-American Scholars in 2012, as well as the Impact Award for both the 2012 and 2013 seasons. Petchakan has competed in only one tournament in the fall but has worked behind the scenes in the administrative and marketing department.
“Petchakan is kind of our behind the scenes team leader,” Isagawa said.
Petchakan wants to step away from golfing after her time with the University of Oregon is finished.
“I mostly wanted to win tournaments all the time, but I lost that drive a little bit in college when everyone is getting so good,” Petchakan said.
Petchakan started golfing as a way to beat her brother as a kid. The social aspect of the sport also kept her interest.
“I think coach Ria Scott does a good job of recruiting, not only field level but personality,” Petchakan said. “Everybody just gets along really well, I’ve heard so many other teams divided but our personalities really click and it’s a great team.”
Hipp has thought about playing professionally, but due to the cost and commitment, Hipp has strayed away from the thought.
“My aspiration is just to go on and be able to teach (golfing),” Hipp said. “I feel like it taught me so many life lessons and it has been such a good environment for me to be around growing up.”
For Hipp, she knew this was her sport around 12 years old.
“I could tell at that age that golf had a lot of good avenues,” Hipp said. “I could get really good at it and I knew that I wanted to: so I decided to start practicing a lot and learning more and more.”
Now that her collegiate career is coming to an end, Hipp knows that her journey has been a special one.
“I never thought that I would have traveled as much as I did or gone over seas two or three different times,” Hipp said. “Playing with our team like that was something I’ve never even thought about.”
For Isagawa, Hipp and Petchakan it’s about more than competing.
“It’s really sentimental knowing that I’ve been on this ride with those two girls the whole time I’ve been there,” Isagawa said.
Isagawa had the most success as a college golfer during her freshman and sophomore year. Despite her describing her senior year as a ‘phase’, she is hopeful that her game will come back with just patience. Isagawa is ready to end her career with UO and move onto the next chapter of her life.
“It has always been my dream to turn professional and play on the LPGA tour,” Isagawa said. “Hopefully, I’ll be able to make it on the LPGA my first try and if not, I’ll give myself a year to keep trying and work hard.”
Follow Keoni Conlu on Twitter @kconlu13