HIGHLAND, N.Y. — This was the year that the Ulster County Women’s Golf Association (UCWGA) Championship was supposed to be competitive after eight-time champion Amber Pennington moved out of the area.
The Delaware State golfer won her eighth straight title by a whopping 38 strokes in 2023, but wasn’t eligible to play this year since competitors must live in the county. While there’s still a long way to go in the 54-hole tournament, Alexa Trapani took a big step toward her first county title in her initial attempt by shooting a 2-over-par 73 in Friday’s first round of the UCWGA tournament at Apple Greens Golf Course in Highland. Trapani, who was a runner-up in the Ulster County Junior Girls Championship sponsored by the UCWGA last season, is nine shots ahead of three-time champion Kim Hines, who had an 82 on Friday.
The only other golfers to break 90 under perfect weather conditions were Diana Decker Kuster (88) and Kathy Murphy (89). Trapani, Hines and Kuster will be in the first group teeing off at 8 a.m.
in Saturday’s second round at Green Acres Golf Course in Kingston. Though the 14-year-old Marlboro High freshman golf star is too young to drive a car, Trapani showed she can drive the golf ball long and straight. Her first birdie came on the 465-yard par-5 fourth hole when she reached the green in two shots.
“I hit my drive pretty good, probably about 240 yards,” Trapani explained. “I had a decision to either lay up with an iron or just go for it with my .