CONWAY -- Brooke Matthews didn't plan on attempting anything extraordinary heading to the 18th hole of Wednesday's final round of the Class 7A girls golf state tournament.
The result turned into something special.
CLASS 7A GIRLS STATE TOURNAMENT
At Conway Country Club
Par 72, 5,311 yards
TEAM RESULTS
FS Southside^234-235—469
Conway^243-239—482
Bentonville^254-250—504
Rogers^255-253—508
North Little Rock^267-265—532
Mount St. Mary^287-295—582
Little Rock Central^291-309—600
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
Brooke Matthews, Rogers^71-71—142
Casey Ott, Conway^72-71—143
Hannah Bakalekos, NLR^73-73—146
Sydney Staton, Southside^75-74—149
Addison Mitchell, Southside^75-78—153
Kate Robertson, Bentonville^82-72—154
Taylor Loeb, MSM^80-77—157
Alexis McDaniel, Conway^88-83—161
Madison Hill, Southside^84-83—167
Olivia Parker, Conway^83-85—168
Joanna Keck, Har-Ber^87-82—169
Madison Weston, Bentonville^86-84—170
Payton Smith, Rogers^85-88—173
Lauren Shepard, Central^83-95—178
Sydney Stiener, Conway^92-87—179
K. McCloskey, Bentonville^86-94—180
Brenna Lee, Van Buren^94-90—184
Kara Rogers, MSM^92-96—188
Abby Roberts, Bentonville^90-99—189
Anna Wyatt, NLR^99-93—192
Sabra Ivey, Rogers^99-94—193
Jamilyn Kimey, Van Buren^98-95—193
Bentley Lager, Southside^97-96—193
Kaitlyn Haynie, NLR^95-99—194
Katherine Reece, West Memphis^95-100—195
D. O’Shields, Cabot^99-103—202
K. Vermilion, Fayetteville^99-109—208
Kaylan Harris, Central^105-104—209
Maggie Martin, Cabot^107-103—210
Amanda Sakalares, Rogers^103-107—210
Sydney Figenskau, Rogers^103-109—212
Julia Jeffrey, Bentonville^112-95—217
Anna K. White, Fayetteville^108-114—222
Maddie Hutson, Central^103-120—223
Skylar Baker, Central^119-110—229
Legacy Lager, Southside^116-118—234
Alexis McCauley, MSM^115-122—237
Emily Ellis, MSM^136-126—262
Lizzie Hutson, Central^141-141—282
Matthews, a junior from Rogers, rolled in a 10-foot birdie on her final hole to claim a one-shot victory over Conway sophomore Casey Ott. Matthews finished with a two-day total of 2-under 142 while Ott posted a 1-under 143. Both shot a 1-under 71 on Wednesday.
Matthews took a conservative approach to the 18th hole at Conway Country Club, a 290-yard par 4.
"I hit a 3-wood off the tee because I knew my driver had not been straight all day," Matthews said. "I was going to try to give myself something close, maybe 100 yards and in. I wasn't trying to pull off a miracle shot. It was uphill and into the wind. I just tried to play it safe."
Matthews' tee shot landed in the middle of the fairway. Her approach shot was even better, landing in the middle of the green, 10 feet from the pin.
Ott's tee shot landed just right of the cart path, only a few yards away from hitting the adjoining street and going out of bounds. But Ott recovered nicely, hitting her second shot onto the green, 20 feet away from the hole.
Ott's birdie attempt missed by inches. Matthews followed with her match-winning shot.
"I hit the ball solid today," Ott said. "I just didn't hit enough putts on the back nine. At least I was getting it close enough for tap-ins."
Hannah Bakalekos of North Little Rock fired a 73 for the second consecutive day and finished third. Matthews, Ott and Bakalekos all qualified for the Overall tournament, which will be held Oct. 15 at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Little Rock.
Fort Smith Southside cruised to the team title. The Lady Rebels completed the second day with a 235 to finish with a two-day score of 469. Sydney Staton led Southside with a 5-over 149, while Addison Mitchell shot 153 and Madison Hill 167.
Conway was 13 strokes behind Southside. The Lady Wampus Cats' 482 was good enough to take home the runner-up trophy.
Matthews, a University of Arkansas commitment, had an up-and-down day. She birdied three of her first six holes but also suffered two bogeys. With six holes remaining, Matthews held a two-shot lead over Ott, but back-to-back bogeys on No. 14 -- a 239-yard par 4 -- and No. 15 -- a 469-yard par 5 -- brought a dramatic finish to the tournament.
"On 14, I just hit a bad tee shot," Matthews said. "So I knew I was going to have to make a putt and I didn't. On 15, I hit a bad wedge shot, then I hit my chip too far and I couldn't make the putt. That was a bad hole for me."
Matthews also had trouble on No. 16, a 140-yard par 3. Her tee shot fell 25 feet in front of the green, leaving her with a precarious chip. But Matthews hit the shot to within a few feet of the hole and managed to sink the par putt.
"I didn't think I chipped as well today as I did Tuesday, but that chip shot saved me," Matthews sad. "I knew I was going to have to pull off something there after I hit my tee shot where I did."
Matthews did not have many opportunities to chip. She hit 13 greens and putted only 32 times, compared to 36 putts for Ott.
"I definitely did not want to blow up and get fourth in the state like I did last year," Ott said. "I was playing more to make the Overall than I was to win it today."
Matthews said Ott brought out the best in her.
"It was a dogfight," Matthews said. "We were neck-and-neck all day. I knew it was going to come down to the last few holes with Casey and me, just because it's always that way between us. ... We definitely shoot lower because of each other.
"We put pressure on each other to make putts. It's fun."
CLASS 5A
Maumelle wins by 7
HOT SPRINGS — Maumelle ended Lakeside’s four-year reign as the Class 5A girls golf champion Wednesday with a seven-stroke victory over the Lady Rams at Hot Springs Country Club.
Led by Alexis Montgomery, Maumelle’s top three players shot 259 on the Park course. Montgomery shot a 76, Cat Harris an 88 and Shelby Raborn a 95.
Lakeside (266) finished 14 strokes ahead of third-place Little Rock Christian (252) with Pulaski Academy (300) and Wynne (309) rounding out the top five.
Audrey Pulliam of Pulaski Academy took medalist honors with a 73, two strokes ahead of Wynne’s Elizabeth Moon with Montgomery third. Moon, as a freshman, had a low score of 79 in last year’s state tournament at Pine Bluff Country Club.
Sports on 10/01/2015