Brinker becomes first female DIAA golf champion

Tower Hill’s Phoebe Brinker watches a putt during the DIAA State Golf Tournament at the Rehoboth Beach Country Club on Wednesday afternoon. Brinker won the tournament with a combined score over two days of 140.

Caesar Rodney’s Devin Sanders hits out of the sand during the DIAA State Golf Tournament at the Rehoboth Beach Country Club on Wednesday afternoon.

Charter’s Esther Park tees off during the DIAA State Golf Tournament at the Rehoboth Beach Country Club on Wednesday afternoon.

Members of the Tower Hill golf team stand with their state championship trophy at the Rehoboth Beach Country Club on Wednesday afternoon.

Tower Hill’s Phoebe Brinker receives the flag from the 18th hole after winning the DIAA State Golf Tournament at the Rehoboth Beach Country Club on Wednesday afternoon. Brinker won the tournament with a combined score over two days of 140.

Appoquinimink’s Matt Pulgini watches a tee shot during the DIAA State Golf Tournament at the Rehoboth Beach Country Club on Wednesday afternoon.

Red Lion’s Austin Barbin hits out of the sand during the DIAA State Golf Tournament at the Rehoboth Beach Country Club on Wednesday afternoon.

Tower Hill’s Jennifer Cleary watches her tee shot during the DIAA State Golf Tournament at the Rehoboth Beach Country Club on Wednesday afternoon.

Tower Hill’s Phoebe Brinker tees off during the DIAA State Golf Tournament at the Rehoboth Beach Country Club on Wednesday afternoon. Brinker won the tournament with a combined score over two days of 140.

REHOBOTH BEACH – Phoebe Brinker broke a barrier by splitting fairways.

The Tower Hill eighth-grader consistently striped her tee shots down the middle and became the first female champion in the 43-year history of the DIAA Golf Tournament on Wednesday at Rehoboth Beach Country Club. The 14-year-old won by six strokes and helped the Hillers to their first team title.

“That feels really good,” Brinker said. “It’s just really cool. I feel like maybe it’s just male-dominated, and it’s just cool to break that stereotype.”

Brinker shattered it with rounds of 69 and 71 for a 4-under-par 140 total. Appoquinimink sophomore Matt Pulgini was her closest pursuer, finishing second at 72-74—146.

The girls played the par-72 course at 5,280 yards, while the boys played it at 6,250 yards. The setup was fair, as Brinker, Pulgini and Esther Park — the three players in the final group — appeared to hit similar clubs into most greens.

“She just hits everything straight,” Pulgini said of Brinker. “It was so cool watching her. She played great. Every approach shot she had was within 10 feet, it felt like.”

Sophomore Danny Dougherty (73-74—147) finished third as Tower Hill stormed to a 22-stroke victory over Caesar Rodney in the team competition.

“I’m definitely happy with how I played,” Dougherty said. “Last year I didn’t play that well in states, so it was good to get it back this year.

“We definitely focused on the team, not the individual. We were so deep, deeper than other teams.”

The Hillers finished fourth in 2013, third in 2014 and second behind Salesianum last year. This time, there was no stopping them.

“We’ve been chipping away at this for a couple of years,” Tower Hill coach Kathy Franklin said. “Each year inching up a little bit, and finally they pulled through. We’ve got great kids.

“They’re pretty much tournament-tested,” Franklin added. “They play all summer. They worked hard all spring for this. They are out on the practice range and the putting green. One of the girls was here yesterday at least an hour after the last player finished. And then the two girls came back later on and putted all evening.”

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Brinker’s putting practice paid off with a birdie on the second hole Wednesday. She made the turn in 1-under to maintain a three-stroke lead over Pulgini and Park, then gained more ground with another birdie on the par-4 11th.

The only hiccup was a three-putt bogey on the 16th. But by then, she had plenty of margin for error.

“That was gonna happen eventually, the bogey,” Brinker said. “That would be crazy to not have any bogeys for 36 holes. But I still played really well today. I kept the ball in the fairway, and I hit a lot of greens.”

Pulgini bested a field of 90 professionals and amateurs in a local U.S. Open qualifier on May 16 in Hellertown, Pa. The left-hander was happy with his finish, and looks forward to U.S. Open sectional qualifying Monday in Rockville, Md., where he will be paired with PGA Tour pro Billy Hurley III.

“I hit the ball really well,” Pulgini said. “Just couldn’t make any putts. Everything was lipping out.”

Park (72-76—148) finished fourth, while another Tower Hill eighth-grader — Jennifer Cleary (73-77—150) — took fifth. That made for three girls in the top five.

“It’s pretty awesome,” Cleary said. “… I’m happy for Phoebe to get first. We have a really good team. Any one of us could have been in the top five.”

Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ.