1A/2A Women’s Championship: Schuster gets her fourth; West Lincoln edges Pine Lake Prep for first team title
PINEHURST, NC – Katherine Schuster was not denied her fourth NCHSAA Individual State Women’s Golf Championship, collecting the trophy for the fourth straight year thanks to a 2-under 70 at Pinehurst No. 8 in the 1A/2A Women’s Golf State Championship. The First Flight star was simply brilliant, firing the only under par round in the field on her way to a six-shot win.
Things started out somewhat shaky for the three-time defending Champion. She double bogeyed the opening hole and added another bogey on the fourth. However, she turned things around on the par 3 5th, collecting her first birdie of the day on the 138-yard hole. She carded three more in a row to finish the front nine in 1-under 35.
Her momentum continued on the 11th and 12th, birdieing both holes to get to 3-under for the round before giving one shot back on the par 3 13th. Schuester added another birdie and one more bogey to her card, closing out her high school career with another State Championship, joining former Athens Drive star Jennifer Chang as the only women to win four Individual State Golf Championships.
West Lincoln held off Pine Lake Prep by a ten-shot margin to win their first Women’s Golf team title thanks to consistent play from their top three. Leah Matney led West Lincoln with a 13-over 85, good enough for a tie for 18th. Her teammates Reese Coltrane and Laycee Hoffman finished right on her heels at 14-over 86 and in a four-way tie for 20th.
Pine Lake Prep had a great showing from Caroline Johnson who finished second overall at 4-over 76. She led her team to a second place finish. Caroline Thomas and Alexa Moyer were the other two scoring players for the Pride at 91 and 100, respectively.
The NCHSAA is committed to promoting good sportsmanship and has partnered with NC Farm Bureau to recognize one individual from each of the top two teams with the 2021 Men’s Golf Sportsmanship Awards for each classification. The 2021 1A/2A Women’s Golf Sportsmanship Award winners were Caroline Thomas from Pine Lake Prep and Brooke Beddingfield from West Lincoln.
3A Women’s Championship: Pair of firsts: Matthews goes low for Eastern Alamance & Freedom grabs their first team title
WEST END, NC – Emily Matthews was the only player under par collecting the first Individual State Championship for a player from Eastern Alamance in the program’s history. She was matched by another group celebrating a first, the Freedom Patriots, who won the school’s first Team State Championship at the 3A Women’s Golf State Championship at Beacon Ridge Golf & Country Club.
Matthews was spectacular for her 18 holes, carding a pair of eagles in her round. She eagled the par 4 3rd, holing out in two on the 356-yard hole. Then on the 462-yard par 5 16th she got home in three, matching the eagle from the front nine.
She struggled a bit on the par 3’s, playing each of the four on the course in 1-over. However, her bogey on each hole was significantly better than the field average on each of the holes. The performance was a dominant one, besting the field by eight shots.
Freedom golfers had a wonderful afternoon as well, bringing home the State Championship hardware for the first time. The Patriots finished a comfortable 18 shots clear of second place Cox Mill. Albany Bock and Anna Czarkowski led the way for the Patriot golfers, both firing a 12-over 84 and finishing in a four-way tie for third. Christina Fisher rounded out the scoring for Freedom, coming in at 23-over 95 and in a tie for 24th.
The NCHSAA is committed to promoting good sportsmanship and has partnered with NC Farm Bureau to recognize one individual from each of the top two teams with the 2021 Men’s Golf Sportsmanship Awards for each classification. The 2021 3A Women’s Golf Sportsmanship Award winners were Christina Fisher from Freedom and Riya Modak from Cox Mill.
4A Women’s Championship: Reagan golfers sweep for second time in program history
PINEHURST, NC – Macy Pate played a nearly error free round on her way to a 2-under 68 at Pinehurst No. 1 in the 2020-21 4A Women’s Golf State Championship. Pate led Reagan to their second Women’s Golf Team State Championship and was the third individual winner in the women’s program history.
Pate opened the round with a bogey on the 365-yard par 4 1st. Shaking off some early round jitters, she showed championship mettle in steadying her hand for a pair of pars before getting a shot back on the par 5 4th hole with a birdie. Then, Pate ran off a string of pars before knocking down birdies on the par 4 16th and the par 5 18th to best Laney’s Grace Holcomb by one shot. Pate joins an elite group of golfers who have shot a round of 68 in the State Championship. She joins the ranks of Katherine Schuster (2018), Blair Lamb (2002 & 2004), Cydney Clanton (2005) and Gina Kim (2015) as the group just one shot back of the all-time 18-hole scoring record set by Blair Lamb (2003) and Siranon Shoomee (2014).
Holcomb was steady on the back nine until a pair of bogeys on the par 4 15th and 16th holes. She did manage to birdie the 18th to apply a little pressure to Pate who was playing in the group behind her.
Reagan also got a stellar performance from Morgan Ketchum who carded an even-par 70 on her way to a third place finish. The Raiders scoring trio was rounded out by Anna Howerton who shot 5-over 75 and finished in a seven-way tie for 11th place in the Individual Standings.
The Green Hope Falcons performed well on their way to second place honors, five shots clear of Cardinal Gibbons who finished third. The Falcons were led by Halynn Lee who tied for fourth with a 1-over 71.
The NCHSAA is committed to promoting good sportsmanship and has partnered with NC Farm Bureau to recognize one individual from each of the top two teams with the 2021 Men’s Golf Sportsmanship Awards for each classification. The 2021 4A Women’s Golf Sportsmanship Award winners were Morgan Ketchum from Reagan and Tyler Griggs from Green Hope.