One hole made the difference.
Results for North Little Rock sophomore Mackenzie Lee and Baptist Prep senior Bailey Grace Dunstan on the 377-yard, par-4 14th hole at Little Rock's Pleasant Valley Country Club in the girls Overall championship Thursday gave Lee a significant enough advantage for her to hold on for a two-stroke victory.
Lee, the runner-up to Dunstan in last season's Overall, won with an even-par 72 on the 5,885-yard layout. Duncan finished second with a 74. Lauren Loeb of Mount St. Mary was third in 79.
Lee was 3-under-par through 15 holes and held a seven-stroke lead over Dunstan, whose group was a hole in front of the winner's threesome. Dunstan played her final three holes in 2 under. Lee bogeyed each of her last three.
"I'm glad I could win, but the scored could've been better," Lee said.
Lee's performance relative to Dunstan's on No. 14 gave her the cushion she needed.
Dunstan played the downhill 377-yard hole first. Her approach to the green missed 20 yards short and left in trees and on hard ground. She stubbed her pitch into a bunker, from which her sand shot rolled downhill 10 feet past the pin. From there, she two-putted for a double bogey.
"I just chunked that pitch," Dunstan said.
Lee's approach from 150 yards also missed short and left, but her shot hit a ridge that served to funnel it right. Her ball rolled onto the green and continued to turn right and toward the pin. It stopped 6 inches short of the hole.
Lee's birdie put her at 3 under.
"I didn't hit it good, but it was drawing a little," Lee said. "Actually, when it hit that hill, I hoped it would bounce onto the green. It did, but I didn't expect it to be that close. That was real lucky."
Lee said her 3-over-par run through the final holes was a product of self-induced pressure.
"I was just trying to get pars, but I guess I just got stressed out," Lee said.
Lee played a 12-hole stretch, from Nos. 3-14, in a cumulative 5-under par, a run of excellence countered by her start and finish. Her start on No. 1, a 338-yard par-4, included a green hit in regulation followed by four putts from 60 feet for a double bogey. She used a total of 26 putts over the next 17 holes.
"I think the nerves got into me," Lee said.
Dunstan has committed to play for Samford, in Birmingham, Ala., as a freshman next fall. She said she has enjoyed her rivalry with Lee.
"We've been very much back and forth," Dunstan said. "I like her. We're good friends."
Sports on 10/18/2019