Christmas 18—YPSILANTI — Anci Dy nearly added the Betty Richart Championship Trophy to her already bountiful collection of awards and accolades, but the Traverse City West alum and soon-to-be junior at the University of Indianapolis fell just shy in a three-way playoff for the 32nd GAM Women’s Championship.
Dy bogeyed No.1, the first hole of the playoff with a three-putt while eventual champion, Canton’s Bridget Boczar, and runner-up, Grand Blanc’s Kate Brody, made par at the Washtenaw Golf Club on Tuesday.
Dy, who was last summer’s Michigan Women’s Amateur Champion and is also headed to the US Women’s Amateur, said she did not feel good with her putter all day.
“I was trying to keep it steady, but I missed a lot of putts inside 6 feet,” she said. “It comes and it goes, and that green at 17 (in regulation) just got me. I was above the hole. Then I hit my drive in the (fairway) bunker in the playoff. That made it tough, and I couldn’ t make a pair.”
Boczar saved par from a greenside bunker on the second hole to topple Brody and take home the title.
“It wasn’t too difficult of a bunker shot, and I’ve been there before,” Boczar said. “So I just put a good swing on it, and it ended up right next to the hole.”
Although Dy did not win, that does not diminish what is already an impressive career.
Following her incredible high school performance across four years at Traverse City West that saw her graduate as the top-ranked girls player in the state, Dy has gone on to great success as a collegiate golfer for the University of Indianapolis. In her sophomore season alone, Dy was recognized as an All-American Honorable Mention and an All-American Scholar from the Women’s Golf Coaches Association. She also earned All-East Region honors along with All-Great Lakes Valley Conference and Academic All-Great Lakes Valley honors as well as the Great Lakes Valley Brother Gaffney Distinguished Scholar Award.
Just last week, Dy earned co-medalist honors at the US Women’s Amateur Qualifier along with Brody, her playoff partner Tuesday at the GAM championship. Dy parred each of the final 12 holes to finish with an even-par 71, earning her a spot at the US Women’s Amateur Championship along with her older sister, Anika Dy who is also a Traverse City West graduate and All-Big Ten Conference honoree from the University of Michigan.
The 2023 US Women’s Amateur will take place Aug. 7-13 at the Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, California.
As for Tuesday’s championship action in Ypsilanti, the playoff trio finished three shots clear of the field. Boczar shot a second consecutive 1-over 73 in regulation play for 146, while Brody carded the lowest round of the day at 70 to land at 146, and Dy shot 72 for 146.
Brody three-putted the 18th, the second playoff hole from about 30 feet, missing a 3-footer that lipped out of the cup, and Boczar closed it out by knocking in her 2-foot par putt that had resulted from the bunker shot.
“I’m very pleased. It means a lot,” Boczar said. “I never really won anything this big before, so I think it goes to show that what I’m doing is working and how I’m practicing is really helping me in my game. I’m excited.”
Boczar, who led after the first round and led or was tied for the lead throughout the final round, had a one-shot lead on Dy and two on Brody when she came to hole 17 in regulation. She just missed the fairway left and her approach shot from the rough sailed over the green.
“Then I just had a really hard chip from the back of the green, and I left it short and had to chip again,” she said. “That was my big fumble of the day. I kind of thought I was out of it at that point. I didn’t expect (Dy) to three-putt. Then by the time we finished 17, I realized we were tied. I was still in it.”
Brody, who is headed to the University of Wisconsin on a golf scholarship after playing in the US Women’s Amateur, said she was a little surprised to end up in the playoff.
“I knew there was a chance because 17, the green is so tough, and 18, just everything about 18 is hard,” she said. “Then in the playoff, I don’t feel like I hit a bad putt. It just lipped out, and that’s golf. I had a real solid round today. I think it was my first bogey-free round in a GAM tournament, and I know I left a few shots out there.”
Boczar, a runner-up in the championship last year, said she didn’t focus on winning this year. She stayed true to her process.
“I just focus on shooting good scores and look at specific aspects of my game, like greens in regulation, how my putting is,” she said. “I focus on the smaller details instead of overall winning because there’s so much that goes into winning that people don’t see.”