CONWAY -- Casey Ott appeared poised to hold the lead after the first day of the Class 7A girls golf state tournament.
The Conway sophomore had birdied two of the first three holes she had played Tuesday at Conway Country Club and was at 3 under par just eight holes into her round. After taking a bogey on her 10th hole, Ott settled in and recorded seven consecutive pars.
A triple bogey on her final hole spoiled what had been an overall impressive round.
"Stupidity happened," said Ott, who finished the round with a 72 after taking an 8 on the 376-yard ninth hole. "I thought I should go for a green when I was already playing pretty well."
Taking advantage of Ott's final-hole disaster was Rogers junior Brooke Matthews, who has committed to play for the University of Arkansas. Matthews also had trouble at No. 9 by taking a bogey, but her 1-under 71 was good enough for the first-day lead.
"There are some tricky holes out here, but I like the course" Matthews said. "My round was pretty solid. I had a few bad holes, but my chipping saved me. I only hit nine greens. My round was solid, but I could have done better."
Fort Smith Southside captured the 7A-West Conference title, shooting a first-round 234. Bentonville claimed the runner-up trophy with a 254, one stroke better than Rogers.
Conway rolled to the 7A-Central title. The Lady Wampus Cats' score of 243 was 24 strokes better than runner-up North Little Rock (267).
The medalist and state titles will be determined today. Southside will be seeking its second consecutive 7A championship.
Hannah Bakalekos of North Little Rock is also in the hunt to defend her 7A medalist honors. She fired a 73 on Tuesday.
Starting on the back nine on a warm, breezy day, Matthews played bogey-free golf for the first nine holes. She posted back-to-back birdies on the 307-yard, par-4 No. 12 and the 306-yard, par-4 No. 13. Matthews, however, was a stroke behind Ott at the turn.
Ott was 1 under after a bogey on No. 13, but she posted birdies on No. 15, a 452-yard par 5, and on No. 17, a 274-yard par 4.
Matthews' front-nine 37 included bogeys on Nos. 1, 3, 6 and 9 and birdies on Nos. 4 and 5.
With her seven consecutive pars on the front nine, Ott came into the 376-yard par-5 No. 9 with a one-stroke advantage over Matthews. She decided to play the hole aggressively and it cost her.
"I was in the trees, then I hit it out," Ott said. "Then I put it in a bad spot again. Stupid hole."
Matthews, who won the overall title a year ago, said her approach to today's final round won't change much from what she attempted to accomplish Tuesday.
"I want to play smart but still remain aggressive and try not to go on the defensive," Matthews said.
"For me, it's going to be go big or go home," Ott said. "My goal is to get to the Overall, and that's how I plan to do it."
Southside's team score of 234 was led by Addison Mitchell and Sydney Staton, who both finished with 75s. Madison Hill added an 84 for Southside.
Conway's Olivia Parker shot an 83 and teammate Alexis McDaniel carded an 88 to aid the Lady 'Cats in winning their 7A-Central Conference title.
Sports on 09/30/2015