Girls Golfer of the Year: ‘This was her year’ Yorkville junior Mia Natividad capped off banner season by taking 2nd at state

Mia Natividad is a young lady inquisitive as to the physics of ball flight, the nuances of why she strikes golf shots a certain way.

And yet she still can’t wrap her mind around what transpired at state.

Natividad, a Yorkville junior, put on a dazzling display of shot-making and putting in the first round of the Class 2A state tournament at Hickory Point Golf Course last month. At one point she birdied four of six holes. She finished her round with five birdies in a career best 2-under-par 70.

“I told coach at the time I was flustered. It was super unreal,” Natividad said. “I didn’t know how to explain it. All I could say is it felt automatic. I felt like I was in a zone.”

Natividad, the leader after the first round at state, wound up the 36-hole tournament at 1-over par to tie for second place in the state.

It capped off quite a fall season for the repeat Record Newspapers Player of the Year. Natividad went unbeaten in conference duals and won her third straight Southwest Prairie Conference title before qualifying for state for the first time.

And she made Yorkville history with the program’s best-ever state finish.

“It was a huge deal for the program just to have our kids see the time and dedication that Mia put into the sport and how it paid off,” Yorkville coach Eva Schoenfielder said. “They really saw this year how she practiced and how she motivated herself. It was impressive to see.”

Schoenfielder had experience walking the state tournament with Natividad’s older sister, Kait, a four-time state qualifier and author of Yorkville’s previous best finish. Schoenfielder stressed to the younger Natividad to focus on her game and not what was going on around her, to just play “Mia golf.”

Easier said than done.

“I was nervous for her. I so wanted her to do well,” Schoenfielder said. “She was level-headed, but I’m sweating on the inside. I had to mask my emotions to make her feel comfortable because I wanted her to have the best experience. I think the experience will help her tremendously. Mia mentally handled it really well.”

Even more impressive, Natividad did it after feeling under the weather the week of state, limiting her to one practice round.

It bookended what was not the easiest year physically, even for all of Natividad’s success.

Schoenfielder said she noticed that Natividad was tired coming into the season from playing quite a bit and working hard at her game and had to build herself back up.

At one point Natividad was under the weather for a few days, and Schoenfielder said she could take a meet off against Romeoville – but Natividad was determined to get her conference points.

“My goal since sophomore year was to win all my conference matches,” Natividad said. “I think last year I lost one and tied one. We had this match against Romeoville, I think they only had one or two players, it was an automatic win, but even if I’m not feeling good I want to play well. I didn’t want to let that one go. I ended up playing decent.”

Natividad took a week off after state, but is back working on her game. She trains at the TPS Player Service every day, working on her pivot and pressure shifting. She wants to get more distance and wants to get her speed up, and will start honing in on her short game toward the end of the offseason.

“The philosophy of my training program is to get us to be able to learn about the physics of ball flight to figure out why I am hitting a ball a certain way,” Natividad said. “You’re always going to have a day where you’re hitting it bad. The worst part is not knowing why you are hitting it bad. During training I go through what are my bad habits, why am I hitting it a certain way and how to change that.”

Because of her finish at state, Natividad has been invited to play in a national invitational at Pinehurst in North Carolina, site of three U.S. Opens.

“Every year the top two in each state get invited there. It’s a huge credit to her ability,” Schoenfielder said. “That experience will make her a better player. For her, she’ll make the best of what she’s got. She is hardcore and works every day at it. That is the trick of the trade. You have to play.”

Record Newspapers All-Area girls golf team

Alijah Campbell, Sandwich, sr.; Katelin Hong, Oswego Co-op, so.; Faith Malloy, Plano, sr.; Shyell Lowe, Oswego Co-op, so.; Mia Natividad, Yorkville, jr.;