Reeths-Puffer junior Sophia McCollum has already accomplished a lot in her two years of high school golf - like qualifying for the state finals last year – but she topped herself on Tuesday and Wednesday.
McCollum played a great 36 holes on two courses and won the individual championship at the 20-team Lober Classic at Crystal Mountain.
She shot a great two-day score of 153. Her best day was Tuesday, when she had the best score of the 123 competitors with a 74 on the Betsy Valley Course. Her round was 19 shots better than last year when she shot on the same course. She birdied on the second and tenth holes.
Sophia McCollum
McColllum shot a 79 on Wednesday on the Mountain Ridge Course and had the second best score of the field. She had three birdies, on the second, fourth and ninth holes. She played great down the stretch of the tournament, allowing her to outdistance second-place Kaila Oprisiu of Brighton by four strokes.
“Sophia played an incredible two rounds of golf,” said R-P head coach Matt Pallett. “She was very solid from tee to green. She has shown that she has really grown in her mental toughness. She has not let a bad hole or bad shot derail her like it might have in the past. Almost every time she had a bad shot or bad hole she answered right back with a good shot or good hole.
“She has struggled to finish some good rounds in the past. That was not the case today. She played very good golf on some very difficult holes down the stretch to win her first big tournament of her high school career.”
Reeths-Puffer also had a very good day as a team. The Rockets had a two-day score of 793 and finished in fifth place overall (third in the Division 1-2 group).
It was a huge step up for R-P, which finished 18th in the tournament two years ago and 13th last year. The Rockets all earned medals for their team’s strong finish.
Olivia Ambler
R-P’s Olivia Ambler had a two-day score of 193, 13 strokes better than last year, and finished in 20th place in the individual standings. Ella Voorhies finished with a 209 score, which was 33 strokes better than last year.
The top four scores on the team counted in the standings each day, and several other Rockets factored in.
Ava Gibbs was fourth on the team on Tuesday with a 119 and Keeley Cole was fourth on Wednesday with a 119.
Madigan Pitcher was fifth for R-P on Tuesday with a 135 while Jaylynn Acre was fifth on Wednesday with a 136.
“It was great seeing the team earn medals,” Pallett said. “The best part is that we have a lot of potential with this group and I know the girls will work hard to reach it. All of the girls are excited because they all know how much more they can still improve.”