SEQUIM — There was no evidence of a sophomore slump for Sequim’s Alex McMenamin during the spring girls golf season.
McMenamin earned her first outright and second straight Olympic League MVP award this season after sharing the honor with Port Angeles’ Dana Fox last year.
She guided the Wolves (7-0) to an Olympic League team championship as well.
McMenamin claimed her first Olympic League championship by three strokes over Liberty senior Sami Galluzzo by shooting a 6-over-par 78 on the Wolves’ home course, Cedars at Dungeness in Sequim.
She then went on to finish tied for ninth at the Class 2A state tournament at MeadowWood Golf Course. It was McMenamin’s second straight top-10 finish at state.
McMenamin also has been picked as the All-Peninsula Girls Golf MVP for the second straight season by area coaches and the Peninsula Daily News sports staff.
“Yeah, my swing looks a lot better,” McMenamin said when asked if she had improved from her freshman year.
“My irons are getting good and my driver has been on pretty much all season.”
McMenamin continues working on her game with Pacific Northwest golf guru Jeff Coston at Semiahmoo Golf and Country Club in Blaine.
They’ve been working together for three years, and the biggest difference this year is that McMenamin, 16, can drive herself to the lessons.
Coston is a firm believer in the importance of the short game in golf. The old adage is 50 to 60 percent of all golf shots occur within 100 yards of the pin.
To that end, McMenamin is focusing on improving her touch and feel closer to the flag during her bi-monthly visits to Blaine and on the range in Sequim.
“Working on the short game, learning different chip shots and approaches,” McMenamin said of her course work.
“A little of bit of reigning in my irons on closer approach shots.
“And you can always work on speed around the greens with your putts.”
McMenamin enjoys learning from the professional.
“We will be hitting shots on the course and he holes them out on the fairway all the time,” McMenamin said.
“That’s impressive.”
Unlike many high-level players who love to tinker with their equipment setups, McMenamin said she hasn’t added or swapped out clubs in the last year, playing the same set of Nike irons, hybrids and woods.
Improvement came on two fronts this season.
“I thought I did a lot better at away courses this year,” McMenamin said.
“I play well at Dungeness, but I’m familiar with the course. Some of these away courses are still new to me.”
She also liked her ability to bounce back.
“This season, I had a lot of good comeback rounds where I didn’t quit after a few bad holes,” McMenamin said.
“I was able to get things back together and get a better score than I probably would have last year.
“When my putting was on was when I had my best rounds.”
She pointed to Sequim’s final regular season match of the year at home against Klahowya as her season highlight.
“Probably shooting the 1-under-par in my last match at Dungeness,” McMenamin said of shooting a 36 on the par-37 front nine.
“I think I was four-over[-par] after a certain point and birdied a bunch in a row to come back really well.”
She’ll spend her summer practicing and playing in junior tournaments.
“I’m playing in the Washington State Amateur at Dungeness right now [through today] and all the Washington Junior Golf Association events,” McMenamin said.
McMenamin said her focus will be on her putting stroke.
“I’m working on my putting a lot,” McMenamin said.
“I three-putted a lot at state. When I get under pressure, I need to do a better job of managing the moment and making putts.”
With two more years of high school golf, there will be plenty more putts for McMenamin to make.
________
Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-452-2345, ext. 5250 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
