VALDOSTA — Pierce County’s fourtime state champion Lady Bears and Ware County’s Lady Gators logged top five finishes here Monday in 14-team Lady Viking Classic at Kinderlou Forest Golf Club.
The Lady Bears, the smallest school in the field, finished fourth in the March 23 tourney posting a 253 team score. The Lady Gators placed fifth with a team score of 257.
“The weather was perfect and the course was in great shape,” said head coach Stuart Stipe. “Kinderlou is not the kind of course you want to play blind with no practice round. It forces you to manage your golf ball around the course and onto big greens. I was pleased with our discipline off the tee, but we never did adjust to the greens and that cost us some ‘extra’ strokes.”
Class 6A tournament host Lowndes “A” blistered the course with an even-par score of 216. Finishing between the Lady Vikings and Class 2A PCHS were Class 6A Tift County (239) and Class 6A Richmond Hill (243). Behind Class 4A Ware County were Lowndes “B” (259), Class 5A Lee County (268), Class 5A Glynn Academy (272), Class 3A LaGrange (277), Class 4A Wayne County (278), Class 5A Coffee (288), Class 6A Colquitt County (290), Class 3A Bainbridge (307) and Class 5A Thomas County Central (308).
Lowndes teammates Catherine Odum and Sophia Martin finished 12 in the field of 68 golfers. Odum blistered the course carding a five-under-par score of 67. Martin finished one shot back with a four-under-par 68.
The Lady Bears were led by Mollie Kate Dixon’s round of 83 tying Lee County’s Bailey Lloyd for 10th. Sister Brooke Dixon was a shot back with an 84 in a three-way tie for 12th with Ware County’s Eevy Griffin and Tift County’s Riley Williams.
Kadence Hale shot 86 to round out the team score while finishing in a four-way tie for 19th with Lowndes’ teammates Emma Bowers and Sarah Stiefle, and Richmond Hill’s Isabella Romine. Belle Sinclair posted a round of 87 to tie Wayne County’s Kaydee Brown for 23rd. Morgan Hull added an 89, tying Tift County’s Mattie Hendrix for 27th.
Griffin’s round of 84 led the Lady Gators. Annslee Kate Grantham carded an 85 to finish in a four-way tie for 15th with Lowndes’ teammates Cannon Langdale and Peyton Stiefel, and Glynn Academy’s Sydney Paradis.
Lily Livingston posted an 88, finishing out the team score and tying Lowndes’ Miley Hughes for 25th. Kate Thomas followed with a round of 91 for a solo 31st finish. Lily Peters shot 98 for a solo 41st showing.
