It took 22 holes to crown a winner in the Championship Division during the South Dakota Golf Association Two-Woman Tournament this year, and Reese and Julie Jansa eventually took home the crown Sunday afternoon at Moccasin Creek Country Club.

The Jansas won their third straight state title and fifth in the last six years, defeating Olivia Braun of Aberdeen and Allison Meyerink of Mitchell on a fourth playoff hole after both teams finished with 6-under-par totals.

“I would definitely say this year was a little more interesting than the last few. The girls we played with, they’re so competitive and we knew going into it we were gonna have to play really good,” said Reese Jansa. “So, I think coming out on top is just like the cherry on top. It’s really special to win with your mom, not many people can say that they do.”

It’s a special moment to win the championship division, let alone with a daughter.

“To do it with your daughter, it’s unbelievable. And to play at this level, against players like that, makes me feel like I still got a little bit of game,” Julie said. “To play with your child at that level, it’s incredible and I’m so proud of her.”

Sunday’s play was Chapman style, which means each player teed off, then hit their teammate’s drive and then choose the best third shot to play from there.

On the 16th hole, Braun and Meyerink were holding a one stroke lead, and Reese knew she needed to make a move.

“I was a little mad coming off of 15, so I just hit it as hard as I could,” Reese said. “(Mom) was down there to 70 yards, and she’s really good with her wedges, so I had no worries there.”

On the second shot of the par 4, Julie lined up her shot and sunk it from about 70 yards out for an Eagle, which gave the Jansas the lead with two holes to go.

“We knew we had to start pressing right? We needed to start making some birdies. Obviously, we didn’t think we were gonna make an Eagle there,” Julie said. “(Reese) drove me down to 70 yards. My husband said you gotta hit it something like 61 yards, let it release down to the hole. I walked up to see what it would look like, but I walked back down. I just executed and got lucky.”

Down a stroke, Braun and Meyerink needed to get something done with only two holes left.

“So, after 16, you know they made an incredible shot, it went in,” Braun said. “We were just kind of telling ourselves to take a deep breath, it’s OK. Try to hit it on the green and make a putt.”

Both teams parred hole 17, which meant that Braun and Meyerink were still down one going into the last hole. On the 18th, Meyerink set Braun up with a nice shot onto the green, which gave them the chance for birdie.

“I mean, I was a little nervous, but Ali hit a great shot. It went past the hole, and I read the break,” Braun said. “I knew if I hit it good, it was gonna go in, and you know, I did just that.”

The Jansas parred hole 18, which meant the title would come down to a playoff. It was decided to have the first playoff hole be the 18th hole again, which got some mixed reviews.

“When Dean (Zahn) told me, the SDGA guy, he told me we’re doing 18; 18’s not a good hole for me, the way it lines us up off the tee, it’s a very difficult shot for me,” Julie said. “So, when he said we’re going back to 18, I’m going like ‘What? You couldn’t have picked any other hole out here?’ You get out there, you gotta focus and you gotta grind a little bit harder.”

For Reese, it was just another playoff hole.

“I was like ‘You know what, we’ve played in many playoffs in our time,’” Reese said. “We’ve got this, whether how long it took, I think we were gonna fight it out no matter what.”

Going on to another hole, Braun and Meyerink didn’t lose track of their game plan from the beginning of the day: have fun.

“We were having fun out there. You know, actually before the round even started this morning, we were like, we promised each other we’re gonna have fun,” Braun said. “We weren’t gonna get down, and I think we did just that.”

The two teams both parred the first playoff hole, forcing a second playoff hole, this one on 17. They both hit par again, and went back to 18 for the third playoff hole. They hit par for a third time in a row on 18, and jumped back to 17 for what proved to be the last playoff hole.

The adrenaline helped both sides to stay as sharp as possible.

“I would say your adrenaline kind of motivates you. I was not even tired, I was just like, OK, I’m getting more and more stressed,” Reese said. “I would definitely say I was just running off of adrenaline.”

“I was actually feeling excited because I was just like, it’s gonna happen soon,” Braun said. “I was just excited.”

On the final playoff hole, Reese teed off and landed her ball just feet away from the hole on the par three, setting her mom up nicely for a shot to win.

“I knew that that was the club. Obviously, that was my third time playing it today, so I was like this is the club,” said Reese. “When everyone was cheering, I was like ‘Oh no, did I make it?’”

Julie had no clue how close the ball was to the hole until she walked up to the green. She ended up sinking the putt to secure a birdie, which was enough to give the Jansas the win.

“You can’t see anything from the tee box and they all kind of went crazy, and I was like ‘Oh my God, please be really close,’” Julie said. “I wasn’t gonna get too excited because you never know right? So I hung it there, and yeah, it just caught enough of the lip to wanna fall in.”

Reese was able to finally relax after seeing her mom’s putt fall in.

“It’s kind of a sigh of relief honestly, cause your brain is so focused on every shot that’s coming up,” Reese said. “Honestly, I was like ‘Oh no, we have to go play another hole.’ Like, I have to be prepared, so I think it was just more of a relief that we were done.”

Winning championship trophies never gets old for the SDGA Hall of Famer Julie Jansa.

“You know, it feels phenomenal. We’ve got a few in our basement,” Julie said. “It’s always fun to add another one and we’ll be able to celebrate all the way home to Sioux Falls.”

To see complete tournament results, click on the following link:

https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/5096886