MELBOURNE -- Josie Love golfs the course almost every day during the summer months, but she saved her best round for last.
Love, a senior at Melbourne, shot an even-par 72 on Tuesday afternoon during the Class 3A girls golf state championship on Cooper's Hawk to easily win medalist honors. She also led the Lady Bearkatz to the team state championship.
It was the second consecutive individual title for Love.
"I played really well today," she said. "Everything was good. I made all of my putts. I was taking good shots. Everything just went perfect."
Love shot par on 12 of the holes, birdied two holes (13 and 15), eagled the par-5 No. 8, bogeyed two holes (1 and 12) and double-bogeyed No. 10.
Love finished the front nine with a 1-under 35, then had trouble on No. 10. She bounced back with a birdie on No. 11, bogeyed the 12th, then got another birdie on No. 13 before posting pars the rest of the way.
"I know that sometimes a double-bogey can mess with your mind, but you've just got to keep your head on straight," Love said.
Love's 72 led Melbourne, and she was followed by sophomore Addie Harris' 95 and junior Halle Cooper, who shot a career-best 96 on Tuesday, which also happened to be her 17th birthday. Those three totaled 263, which won the Lady Bearkatz the title by 18 strokes. Melbourne's fourth golfer, freshman Peyton Manry, finished with a 104.
"I'm so proud of my teammates. They all have improved," Love said. "They all have been out here every day, and they have worked so hard. Today was a culmination of all of our hard work. Other than the Overall, this was my last round as a high school player and it couldn't have gone any better than it did today."
The Smackover Lady Buckaroos were the only team to place two golfers in the top 10 and finished with a team score of 281 to claim runner-up.
Jordyn Threet of LISA Academy was second with an 80, while Bismarck's Gloria Barry finished third with an 87. Love, Threet and Barry qualify for the Overall Tournament on Oct. 12 at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Little Rock. The top eight finishers were named to the All-State team.
Sports on 09/27/2017