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Bailey rebounds after quad bogey to shoot 79, Thomas adds 80; Pioneer’s McKaig fires 94
BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
CARMEL — Olivia Bailey overcame a quadruple bogey on her first hole of the day to shoot a 79, and Ava Thomas added an 80 to lead the Rochester girls golf team to a 356 at the first round of the IHSAA state finals at Prairie View Golf Club Friday.
Rochester stands in 11th place in the 18-team field going into today’s final round.
Noblesville leads with a 310. Zionsville is in second, five shots back.
Other Rochester scores included Lexi Haughs’ 97, Molly Moore’s 100 and Laynie Migonis’ 117.
The other area golfer in the field is Mia McKaig, who made history as the first Pioneer player to participate in the girls state finals. She shot a 94.
Floyd Central’s Paige Giovenco, Westfield’s Addi Kooi and Zionsville’s Taylor Snively each shot 72 and are in a three-way tie for medalist going into the final round.
Bailey is in a tie for 20th, Thomas is in a tie for 24th, McKaig is in a tie for 74th, Haughs is in a tie for 82nd, Moore is in a tie for 88th, and Migonis is 106th in the 108-player field.
Rochester tee times will be the same for Round 2 today as they were for Round 1: Migonis will tee off at 9:50 a.m., Haughs will tee off at 10 a.m., Moore will tee off at 10:10, Thomas will tee off at 10:20 a.m., and Bailey will tee off at 10:30 a.m.
All five Rochester players will tee off on the back nine.
McKaig will tee off at 8:40 a.m. on the back nine. One of her playing partners will be Logansport’s Sophia Kay.
Bailey, who had no score worse than a bogey in winning sectional and regional medalist honors, opened her state finals with a quadruple bogey on No. 10. A dogleg to the left, she hit her tee shot on the right side of the fairway but sprayed her second shot into the woods.
But Bailey also had three birdies in a five-hole span from No. 3 to No. 7.
Bailey then hit her approach shot on No. 9, a par-4, into the water. She dropped, hit her next attempt at an approach shot within 15 feet and two-putter for double bogey.
“To rebound after that start and play the rest of the golf course the way she did is tremendous and just a testament of how you can’t let one hole, especially your first hole, dictate your entire day,” Rochester coach Chad Thomas said. “Her mental toughness to rebound and put together a solid round like that is tremendous.”
Thomas did not have a birdie, but she did not have a score worse than bogey either. She finished her day by holing a nifty left-to-right putt from eight feet on No. 9 for par. It was one of 10 pars she had on the day.
“She didn’t hit her irons very well today,” coach Thomas said. “But she hit some great bunker shots. Hit her driver nice. Hit her fairway wood really well. But the irons weren’t on today. That caused several bogeys, you know. But consistent and very proud of her for hanging in there and putting together a solid round.”
Moore dealt with pain in her left elbow. She sported athletic tape on her left forearm and iced her elbow between shots while walking the course. Coach Thomas said Moore has been dealing with the condition for two weeks.
“To my understanding, it’s what they call golfer’s elbow,” coach Thomas said. “It’s similar to tennis elbow. It permeates down is the way it was explained to me by the professionals. … She was getting treatment from (certified athletic trainer) Christina (Hughes) back home, and we didn’t have her hit a ball from regionals till we got here for a practice round. … I know it was bothering her, but she gutted it out. We need one more round from her.”
Haughs’ score was an 11-stroke improvement on her regional score. A birdie on No. 2, a par-4, highlighted her round. But she also had a 12 on the par-5 13th hole, and she had four other triple bogeys.
Haughs played the par-5s in 15-over par and the other 14 holes in 10-over.
“You take away one hole, the par-5 13th … and maybe one other, and that’s a really great round of golf for your first time as a sophomore at the state finals at this golf course,” coach Thomas said. “I’m excited to see what tomorrow brings for her because we got the first-day jitters out of them, so to break 100 is tremendous, and I’m very, very proud of her and the way she responded today.”
Migonis played through illness, according to coach Thomas. A par on No. 17 highlighted her day.
“She hasn’t felt 100% here the last few days, but she’s gutted it out and never complained once,” coach Thomas said. “But yeah, she’s not feeling 100% health-wise. I know the feeling. Ava last year here was definitely not 100% health-wise, and the way this course is physically and mentally, it drains you. So she’s going to sleep well tonight, I’m sure.”
As for McKaig, she fired the first shot of the finals from the first tee at 8:30 a.m. and would eventually par the hole. But she also bogeyed the next five holes and double bogeyed No. 7 before three more bogeys.
She also had pars on the back nine on No. 12 and No. 15.
State finals notes
Maconaquah senior Daisy Williams shot a 75 and is tied for eighth. She is the only other player from the Three Rivers Conference to make state beside the Rochester players.
Center Grove’s Magnolia Miller, a playing partner of Bailey’s, had six birdies in her round of 74. The six birdies were the most of any player.
Carmel’s Sophie Mock had a hole-in-one on No. 12.
IHSAA STATE FINALS, ROUND 1
at Prairie View Golf Club, Carmel, par 72
Noblesville 310, Zionsville 315, Westfield 326, Hamilton Southeastern 327, Franklin 328, Batesville 332, Center Grove 341, Carmel 344, South Bend St. Joe 347, Castle 353, ROCHESTER 356, DeKalb 365, Northridge 365, Homestead 365, Bedford North Lawrence 368, Lake Central 373, New Palestine 378, Evansville Memorial 412
ROCHESTER (356): Olivia Bailey (37-42) 79, Ava Thomas (40-40) 80, Lexi Haughs (46-51) 97, Molly Moore (53-47) 100, (Laynie Migonis (57-60) 117)
PIONEER: Mia McKaig (45-49) 94
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