It wasn't the outcome Maumelle's Taylor Loeb had hoped for, but she stressed it was the next best thing.
Hannah Bakalekos of Sherwood beat Loeb 3 and 1 to capture the Arkansas Women's Golf Association Match-Play Championship on Sunday morning in Maumelle at Country Club of Arkansas.
AWGA Match-Play Championship
Country Club of Arkansas, Maumelle
CHAMPIONSHIP FLIGHT
Hannah Bakalekos def. Taylor Loeb, 3 and 1
OPEN DIVISION
Pam Evans def. Rosetta Parks, 3 and 2
"I'm very proud of her," Loeb said of Bakalekos, a close friend and longtime rival.
Pam Evans of Maumelle beat Rosetta Parks 3 and 2 to win the open division championship.
Loeb was bidding for her second AWGA title in 48 hours -- she won the stroke-play portion by 10 shots over Bakalekos -- but fell short Sunday when her putter went cold late in the scheduled 18-hole final.
Bakalekos secured the title with a short par putt on No. 17 -- a 323-yard, par 4 -- following Loeb's three-putt bogey.
"We're really, really good friends outside of golf," said Bakalekos, 18, a 2017 North Little Rock High School graduate. "Taylor's really good, so it was fun."
Loeb, 19, who will be a sophomore this fall at Henderson State, had beaten Bakalekos 2 and 1 to win the inaugural AWGA Junior Match Play title in 2014.
Bakalekos was in control much of Sunday, taking the lead for good on No. 5 and extending her advantage to 3 up after 11 holes.
But Bakalekos dropped the next two holes with bogeys. Loeb then had an opportunity to even the match, but missed a 4 ½-foot birdie putt on No. 14, a 351-yard par 4.
Loeb went two down with two holes to play after missing a short par putt on No. 16.
"I just missed a few putts that needed to be made and she made the putts that needed to be made," Loeb said.
Bakalekos had converted a 6-foot par putt on No. 15 to maintain her 1-up advantage.
After falling behind early, Bakalekos evened the match with an 8-foot birdie putt on No. 3, a 132-yard par 3.
Bakalekos, 2 up at the turn, went 3 up with a birdie on No. 11, a 460-yard par 5, after sticking a short approach shot to 4 feet.
"I was hitting more greens and played better on the back nine than I did in stroke play," Bakalekos said. "I missed a few short birdie putts, but I was putting a lot better than the last couple of days."
Bakalekos had orally committed to Missouri, but she said now plans to attend the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville and may continue her career there.
Bakalekos said she will compete in the Arkansas State Golf Association Junior Match-Play tournament that begins today at Eagle Hill Golf & Athletic Club in Little Rock.
Sports on 07/17/2017