Former Trojan Nicole Castrale Wins First Pro Event
May 31, 2005 | Women's Golf
May 31, 2005
Former Trojan Nicole Castrale (formerly Nicole Dalkas) won her first professional title after battling through a two-hole playoff to win the Northwest Indiana FUTURES Golf Classic on Saturday (May 28).
Castrale held off Hye Jung Choi to win at seven-under-par 209 at The New Innsbrook Country Club.
"It's awesome to finally do it," said Castrale, 26, of Palm Desert, Calif. "I've had this fourth-place monkey on my back for a while, so it's a relief that I finally got my first professional win."
Starting the final round with a two-shot lead over Virada Nirapathpongporn of Bangkok, Thailand, it was Castrale's tournament to win for about half of the final round. At one point, she held a commanding six-shot lead over her closest competitor. But some rocky holes midway through the round, including five bogeys in a six-hole stretch between holes 9-14, changed the final round into Castrale's tournament to lose.
She righted herself with birdies on the par-five 12th hole, in which she missed a 10-footer for eagle, and on the par-five 15th, where she missed an eagle putt from 20 feet, which kept her in the game.
