Kansas prep Jones makes history, claims fourth state golf title

Maize senior is just third four-time champ in state history

Kinslea Jones of Maize High made history at the Kanas State High School Athletic Association girls state golf championships, winning her fourth individual title. / Mac Moore/KSHSAA

Kinslea Jones came into her final state golf championship with the weight of the world on her putter. And the Maize High School senior delivered, placing her name in the Kansas state history books.

Jones won her fourth individual title, shooting a 3-under par to win the 6A state championship. She is the third four-time state champion in KSHSAA girls golf history, according to CatchItKansas.com

Five birdies on the second day helped to lift Jones to the title, as no other competitor had more than three. The future Kansas Jayhawk concluded her day, tournament and prep career with a birdie on No. 18, as Maize placed fourth overall.

Earlier this year, Jones fired a round of 13-under which included 11 birdies and an eagle. Her round of 58 had just 23 putts on the par-71 Hesston Golf Course, breaking her previous low of 64 while also setting a course record, according to The Wichita Eagle.

Jones told the site “It’s definitely not something that very many people can say that they’ve done.

“The course played a bit shorter than what I’m used to playing in the summer,” she added. “But still to be able to go low, that low, it’s kind of crazy. It’s a little bit overwhelming right now.”

She is the granddaughter of Grier Jones, a former head college golf coach and PGA Tour pro. Grier Jones won four times on the PGA Tour and tied for 16th at the 1978 PGA Championship. He also tied for 33rd at The Masters in 1972.

While a student at Oklahoma State, he won two Big Eight Championships and was the NCAA Championship winner in 1968. Jones won two of his three PGA titles in playoffs in 1972, with the third victory coming five years later over Steve Melnyk and Andy North. 

In 321A, Margaret Ulrich was denied her spot alongside Jones as a four-timer, finishing a stroke back of the title. Ulrich, a senior from Collegiate, placed second to Amelia Bowles from Rawlins County.

Ximena Sarinana of Kapaun Mt. Carmel kept pace with becoming the next four-time state champion, as the sophomore won her second title in a row in 5A. She shot a two-day total of 2-over to secure the crown by two shots. 

The team title remained in the hands of Kapaun, as they won it for the fifth straight season in 5A. 

Other team champions were St. Marys Colgan, Top-Hayden and Manhattan. Addison Douglass was the 4A state champion by 10 shots, following her opening round 70.