Driscoll's DiGrazia wins regional title by 15 strokes

Driscoll junior Gigi DiGrazia has been up to par on the golf course since her freshman season, so why would this year be any different?

As a freshman, DiGrazia took 16th at state. Last year she was a regional champion, finished fourth at sectionals and bounced up nine slots at the state level to earn seventh-place honors.

After competing with the boys during the regular season, the Class A St. Edward regional, held at The Highlands of Elgin was hardly a challenge.

DiGrazia shot just 1-over par, and her medalist round 72 was 15 strokes better than Westmont's Ashley Wilkinson, who shot an 87 for second place.

"It all came together for Gigi," said Driscoll coach Mark Heading. "We expected her to shoot well and shoot low, which of course she did."

DiGrazia had just one practice round at The Highlands before competing in the postseason. She shot a 76 last Sunday.

"The course is beautiful," DiGrazia said. "It is one of the best courses I've played in Illinois. The layout is difficult, but the course rewards you for good shots. The greens were true."

DiGrazia admits to coming out and playing a course that is 1,000 yards shorter than she's been playing all season helps, but there is a period of adjustment.

"It takes about a week for me to adjust to playing a shorter course," she said. "I don't get to use a lot of short irons playing with the boys, but my strength today was my irons.

"I was pretty consistent, and almost all of my putts were 15-20 footers. I felt good overall. Anytime you shoot one over par, it's a good day."

Westmont claimed the team title shooting a combined 400. St. Edward (438) finished second and Hampshire (444) third.

Everybody advancing will play in the Byron sectional which will be held at Prairie View Golf Club on Tuesday. Prairie View is a par-72 bentgrass layout that combines tight tree-lined holes with open links-style holes.