By Mike May
One of the players at last month’s Otter Creek Championship was Indiana-native Annabelle Pancake, one of the few amateurs in the field. Pancake, a lifelong resident of Zionsville and a recent college graduate of Clemson University, made the cut and recorded a strong finish on the weekend.
After opening with rounds of 70-72 (two-under-par), she easily made the 36-hole cut. In the final round, she shot a three-under-par, 69 to finish in a tie for 13th-place at five-under-par.
There were several players with significant LPGA Tour experience, who Pancake bettered during the Otter Creek Championship including, Ana Belac, Emma Talley, Rachel Rohanna, Dana Fall, Brianna Do, Mariah Stackhouse, and Dewi Weber.
One of the keys to Pancake’s strong play was her family’s presence at the tournament. Her mother Libby was in the gallery and her father Tony was inside the ropes serving as his daughter’s caddie.
Tony, the director of golf at the Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, was pleased with his daughter’s overall play.
“I was able to caddy for her and we had a great weekend together. I told her after her round that caddying for one of your kids on Father’s Day is pretty special especially with the birdie–birdie start and birdie–birdie finish!!”
Tony was also impressed by his daughter’s overall composure.
“She played solid golf all weekend. Her wedge play and approach shots were especially good this week. The course was set up at 6,700 yards which really put a premium on ball striking. I think she hit 46 of the 54 greens in regulation.”
Annabelle and her mother then traveled to Portmarnock Golf Club, in Dublin, Ireland to compete in the British Women’s Amateur. Last year, Annabelle finished runner-up. This year, Annabelle had another strong showing with her mother serving as her caddie. She advanced to the match play segment after finishing tied for 24th.
She won the first three matches and advanced to the quarterfinals. Annabelle next faced Marie Eline Madsen from Denmark. After losing the opening two holes to trail by two holes, Annabelle bounced back to tie the match by winning the third and fourth holes. A loss at the seventh put her one down and she was never able to overcome that deficit, eventually losing the match 3 & 2.
The eventual winner of the British Women’s Amateur was 22-year-old American Melanie Green of Medina, New York, a 2024 graduate of the University of South Florida in Tampa.
Annabelle is scheduled to play in the Women’s Western Amateur in Chicago during the week of July 15 and the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Southern Hills in Tulsa, in early August.
As for her professional golf ambitions, she will play in the Pre-Qualifying for the LPGA Tour, in mid-August in Palm Springs. She will also be in the field for the EPSON Tour’s Four Winds Invitational, in South Bend August 30-September 1.
