ROGERS -- Eight holes into her round Wednesday afternoon, Mackenzie Lee said she didn't feel any pressure because she thought things couldn't get worse.
The North Little Rock freshman was right.
At A Glance
Class 6A Girls State Golf Tournament
at Shadow Valley Country Club, Rogers
Team Scores
Bentonville^258-252 — 510
Rogers^289-278 — 567
Fayetteville^282-297 — 579
Cabot^286-305 — 591
Springdale Har-Ber^289-314 — 603
FS Southside^302-324 — 626
Individual results
*Mackenzie Lee, North Little Rock^70-71 — 141
*Lilly Thomas, Bentonville^68-77 — 145
*Lauren Loeb, Mount St. Mary^85-82 — 167
*Kinslee Miller, Bentonville^90-79 — 169
*Terry Uhm, FS Southside^81-91 — 172
*Amanda Sakalares, Rogers^88-90 — 178
Anna Retchin, Fayetteville^90-92 — 182
*Anna Ziegler, Fayetteville^88-96 — 184
*Grace Kilcrease, Har-Ber^84-102 — 186
*Erin Culhane, Rogers^97-90 — 187
Caitlin LaCerra, Bryant^98-89 — 187
Hannah Heflin, Cabot^90-98 — 188
Holly Heslep, Cabot^91-101 — 192
Abbey Ott, Har-Ber^97-95 — 192
Isabel Chaidez, Mount St. Mary^95-98 — 193
Chloe Ellis, Bentonville^100-96 — 196
Jade McKnight, Rogers^104-98 — 202
Sydney Billington, Bentonville^105-102 — 207
Kelsie Taylor, Cabot^105-106 — 211
Sam Steiner, Conway^111-101 — 212
Elizabeth Atchley, Fayetteville^104-109 — 213
Sam Lisowski, Rogers^109-105 — 214
Alexa Chapin, FS Southside^106-111 — 217
Brooklyn Waller, Bryant^105-113 — 218
Anya Tillman, Bentonville^117-107 — 224
Macey Wyler, Har-Ber^108-119 — 227
Evie Marx, Fayetteville^110-138 — 248
Megan Cook/Sydney Allensworth, Rogers*^117-106 — 223
Claire Bowden, Har-Ber^114-117 — 231
Meredith Medford, Bryant^117-118 — 235
Katie Settle, FS Southside^115-122 — 237
Molly Myers, Bentonville West — 115-126 — 241
Starling Ledbetter, Fayetteville^115-129 — 244
Kaycie Merrell, Cabot^119-133 — 252
Lilly Harrop, Har-Ber^130-127 — 257
Alyssa Ledbetter, FS Southside^140-125 — 265
Miriam Rodas, FS Southside^140-130 — 270
Lee overcame a seven-stroke deficit to claim a four-stroke victory over Bentonville senior Lilly Thomas at the Class 6A girls state golf tournament at Shadow Valley Country Club. Lee had five birdies over the last 10 holes and finished with a 1-under 71 and two-day total of 3-under 141.
"I felt less pressure with the worse I played," Lee said. "It was freezing out there at one point. Nothing specific was working. I felt like my shots were a little less than they were [Tuesday], but my putting was a little better. I also felt my game was better.
"I was always aware of what could happen, whether I could win or make a big mistake and lose it all. I was pretty sure by the 17th hole, after I got a birdie on the previous hole, that I could win it."
Thomas, who enjoyed a two-stroke lead before the round started, extended her lead when she hit three consecutive birdies on Nos. 3-5 while Lee suffered a triple bogey on No. 5. Both golfers then hit par on the next three holes to allow Thomas to retain a seven-stroke lead.
The holes that Thomas had birdied during Tuesday's round turned on her this time. She suffered a triple bogey on No. 9 and lost her lead with a double bogey on No. 12. She fell behind with a double bogey on No. 15 while Lee made a par for a one-stroke lead.
"I struggled mentally starting on the back nine," said Thomas, who finished with a 77 on Wednesday. "I somewhat kept things together on some of the holes, but Mackenzie just played great. She played consistent throughout both rounds. She one-upped me, and she played great.
"I got into some trouble with some sand on No. 15, and that made my score a little worse. I tried to keep my head and finish as strong as I could."
Bentonville had no problems earning its second consecutive state championship as the Lady Tigers finished with a two-day team total of 510, 57 strokes ahead of Rogers, which started the second round in a tie for fourth with Springdale Har-Ber.
While Thomas couldn't improve on her score, her Bentonville teammates did. Kinslee Miller, who started the round in a three-way tie for eighth, shot a 79 for a two-day score of 169 to move up to fourth place. Chloe Ellis added a 96, four strokes better than Tuesday's performance.
"It was exciting to go back to back," Bentonville Coach Lindsey Davis said. "Last year's title was momentous, and this was a great day for Bentonville.
"I told the girls that they couldn't ever be comfortable with any lead. I wanted them to play their game, and they did. I thought all of them were going to play much better, and that's what they did."
Sports on 09/27/2018