All things seem to get better in their sophomore season. Girls high school golf is no exception.

When girl golfers from around the state meet this week at four different golf courses to compete in the second-ever Utah High School Girl's Golf Championships, the competition is expected to be fierce and the talent level up a notch from last year's rookie experience.

The improvement in the program and the increase in interest is what organizers point to when discussing the success of the young and still-growing sport. Yes, it's a sport suffering some minor infant-stage pains, but a sport that's already showing enough rewards to make all the upstart sacrifices worth it.

"A majority of these girls have been playing for less than two years, and it is very impressive how well they are doing in such a short time," said Annie Fisher, programs director for the Utah Section of the PGA of America. "To be honest, it chokes me up a bit to see these girls getting involved in this great game. There are a lot of girls whose lives have been changed for the better because of this program."

One thing that has helped the program run more efficient this season was the introduction of a modified Stableford scoring format, which will be used at the four state tournaments. It helps speed up play and keeps the girls feeling more positive about their experience, and is easier to score.

Under the scoring system, varying points are awarded for double eagles, eagles, birdies, pars, bogeys, double bogeys, triple bogeys and quadruple bogeys. Once a girl scores higher than a quadruple bogey on a hole, they pick up and move on to the next hole.

The individuals with the highest point totals will receive the medalist honors, and the teams with the combined highest three individual point totals will take home the team titles.

The 1A, 2A championship and 4A championship are scheduled for Wednesday. The 3A and 5A championships are set for Thursday. The 1A/2A will be held at Sunset View Golf Course in Delta, while the 4A will take place at Glendale Golf Course in Salt Lake City. The 3A event is set for Schneiter's Bluff Golf Course in West Point, with the 5A competition on the slate for Glen Eagle Golf Course in Syracuse.

Skyline, Brighton, Davis, Bingham and Lone Peak have the top programs in the 5A tournament. Those teams will be led by Nicole Gaddie of Skyline, Katie Felt of Skyline, Kiki Collinsworth of Brighton, Katherine Ashby of Davis, Amanda Snyder of Syracuse and Hadley Jarvis of Lone Peak.

In the 4A competition, the medalist race should come down to Dixie's Kelsey Vines, Murray's Anika Afoa and West's Kandice Alires. The team race should be a battle between Murray, Dixie, Bonneville, Box Elder and Cottonwood.