Few high-school golfers from Arlington teams have participated in the annual Girls State Open since the competition began in 2002.
This year, three broke through and qualified — the most in any season.
Among them was junior Ginger Beall of the Yorktown Patriots. She has participated in two straight Girls State Open competitions, organized by the Virginia High School League.
Beall was the first Arlington golfer to compete in two of the Girls State Opens since Yorktown’s Lacey McCormack prior to the pandemic.
This year, Beall carded the same score of 82 as last year in the public-school-only event. Both one-day, 18-hole tournaments were played on the Heritage Oaks Golf Course in Harrisonburg.
Her 82 this season tied Beall for 23rd in the all-individual tourney. Her round began with two straight pars and included one birdie.
Yorktown coach Chris Williams said Beall’s scores were “consistent” both this season and last, despite starting this season with an injury issue.
Beall shot a 78 in the girls region-qualifying competition this fall to earn a berth in the tournament, which included golfers from all six VHSL enrollment classifications. In earlier co-ed district and region tournaments this fall, Beall shot consistent 36-hole scores of 82-81 and 82-82.
Her scores helped Yorktown finish second in the district and third in the region in team scoring.
The other two golfers who played in this year’s Girls State Open were Yorktown senior Caitlin Wright and Wakefield High senior Samantha Phipps.
Wright shot 81, with one birdie, to tie for 21st. She bogeyed three of her first four holes, then steadied by playing par golf over the final five holes of the front nine.
Phipps shot 91 to place 29th.
In the state-qualifying round, Wright shot 85 and Phipps 83.
Last season, Beall and Washington-Liberty’s Malia Perry were the first Arlington golfers to play in the Girls State open since the 2020-21 pandemic season.
No Arlington player has ever finished among the top three of the Girls State Open.
