SPRINGDALE -- Charlie Whorton is making the most of her final state golf tournament. Being on her home course doesn't hurt either.
Whorton, a senior at Springdale Har-Ber, shot a 4-over 76 to tie for first place after the first of two rounds of the Class 6A girls golf tournament Tuesday at Springdale Country Club.
Whorton finished as the 6A-West Conference medalist as well as the Day 1 leader of the state tournament, which also doubled as the conference tournaments for the 6A-West and 6A-Central. Jonesboro's Caroline Hughes also shot 76 to earn medalist in the 6A-Central.
"I'm super proud of her," Har-Ber Coach Tim Rippy said. "There's probably a little extra pressure when you're actually on your home course because everybody expects you to do well. She handled that really well. She didn't show nerves. In those first four to five holes, even though she probably had some, she was able to survive that stretch at even par.
"I think she'll improve [today] and play even better. We want that for her, but however it turns out she is been a very important piece of the Har-Ber golf success over the last four years."
Whorton has been a key contributor to the Lady Wildcats, who are three-time defending state champions. Har-Ber finished tied for sixth as a team with a 270 on Tuesday and will advance to today's final round.
"I'm happy with my round. It was a good round," Whorton said. "I'm really happy with it. I'm really happy with how my team played. Ultimately it's up to the team, it's not just a me thing. Obviously there's some thing I could have worked on, could have done better, just some stupid decisions on the course, but overall I'm very happy with my round."
A highlight on the day was a 45-foot birdie putt Whorton made on hole No. 11.
"That was a big putt," Rippy said. "Dead center with a little speed, but it went down."
Conway shot a team score of 247 to lead Mount St. Mary (249) heading into the final day.
The Lady Wampus Cats won the 6A-Central team championship, led by sophomore Yinyoe Yang, who carded a 77.
Despite being in first place and winning the league title, Conway could have played better, Coach April Worley said.
Brooklyn Worley added an 82 for Conway, while Tori Worley shot 88.
"Today was a rough day for us," Worley said. "We didn't shoot as well as what we typically do. But tomorrow we just plan to come out and play better and end better.
"It's golf and it's a new day every time. Every time we step on the course is a new day."
Chloe Freville shot 80 to lead Mount St. Mary, while Lillie York fired 83 and Ana Belle Gutierrez 86.
Bentonville, which has played behind Rogers and Fayetteville most of the season, shot a team score of 259 to win the 6A-West Conference championship.
Luciana Suarez shot an 84 to lead Bentonville, while Grace Abbruzzese had an 86 and Chloe Comstock 89. The Lady Tigers were three strokes better than Fayetteville, which shot 262 and was led by Elizabeth Lim at 83.
"We've been pushing through the whole time," Bentonville Coach Lindsey Davis said. "We started out real slow, and we've just been working together with the top three. ... It's step by step and what counts is conference and state tournament. I think they played well together and I think they understood how hard and difficult it is when you get to these two days of play."
Caroline Hughes, Jonesboro (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Graham Thomas)
Charlie Whorton, Springdale Har-Ber (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Graham Thomas)
The Conway girls golf team won the 6A-Central Conference championship on Day 1 of the Class 6A girls golf tournament at Springdale Country Club. Pictured (from left) are Savannah Worley, Yinyoe Yang, Brooklyn Worley, Coach April Worley, Abbey Schrick (alternate), Janie Massey and Tori Worley. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Graham Thomas)At Springdale Country Club
Par 72, 5,350 yards
First of two rounds
TEAM SCORES
Conway247
Mount St. Mary249
Bentonville259
Fayetteville262
Bentonville West269
Rogers270
Springdale Har-Ber270
Jonesboro273
Rogers Heritage275
Cabot306
Bryant318
Fort Smith Southside379
LR Central394
INDIVIDUAL SCORES
Caroline Hughes, Jonesboro76
Charlie Whorton, Springdale Har-Ber76
Yinyoe Yang, Conway77
Chloe Freville, Mount St. Mary80
Elizabeth Esteban, Cabot82
Brooklyn Worley, Conway82
Elizabeth Lim, Fayetteville83
Lillie York, Mount St. Mary83
Luciana Suarez, Bentonville84
Grace Abbruzzese, Bentonville86
Ana Belle Gutierrez, Mount St. Mary86
Elle Cozad, Bentonville West87
Ava Henshaw, Rogers Heritage87
Maria Ezzi, Mount St. Mary88
Anna Scudder, Rogers88
Beth Sego, Fayetteville88
Tori Worley, Conway88
Chloe Comstock, Bentonville89
Tatum Potts, Bentonville West89
Anna Claire Carter, Jonesboro90
Sam Deckert, Bryant90
Avery Allen, Rogers91
Drew Mizanin, Fayetteville91
Kate Scudder, Rogers91
Alexa Burkett, Springdale Har-Ber92
Madison Bell, Bentonville West93
Mackenzie Reeves, Rogers Heritage93
Olivia Council, Fayetteville93
Maggie Nickel, Rogers Heritage95
Elizabeth Scudder, Rogers96
Abbey Hendricks, Bentonville98
Aubrey Justus, Springdale98
Gabi Olivieri, Rogers99
Allison Williams, Springdale Har-Ber102
Audrey Jo, Little Rock Central103
Lillian Lyons, Fayetteville103
Lily Champlin, Cabot104
Adison Czuba, Bentonville105
Marlee Hagen, Jonesboro107
Kaitlyn Leonard, Bentonville West107
Roxy Crotts, Jonesboro108
Jane Massey, Conway108
Kennedy Yi, Bentonville West111
Kinley Little, Bryant112
Jude Abohammdan, Rogers Heritage113
Lindsey Crowder, Springdale Har-Ber114
Sallie Morris, Springdale Har-Ber114
Meredith Pierce, Fort Smith Southside114
Kennedy Griffin, Mount St. Mary116
Lola Watson, Bryant116
Callie Conrade, Cabot120
Peyton Yaffe, Fort Smith Southside122
Savannah Spradling, Cabot123
Audrey Ditta, Jonesboro125
Brea Green, Little Rock Southwest129
Tania Taylor, North Little Rock131
Addison Pilkington, Bryant133
Jules James, Bryant135
Allie Littlefield, North Little Rock135
Savannah Worley, Conway142
Elaina Haney, Fort Smith Southside143
Chaveli Gonzalez, Little Rock Central145
Anna Johnson, Little Rock Central146
Paz Tiedeman, Little Rock Central151
Grace Edwards, Little Rock Central166