Sophia McCollum did a great job of defending her team’s home turf on Friday.
The Reeths-Puffer golf standout was at her best at R-P’s own Lady Rocket Invitational at Lincoln Golf Club, winning the individual championship in a field of 65 golfers from 13 schools.
McCollum finished with an 18-hole score of 78, one shot ahead of Lowell’s Elyse Veldman.
The R-P junior started out a bit slow, but shot a hot 37 on the back nine to sew up the title. She birdied on holes 6 and 17.
“I was able to witness Sophia’s last four holes of golf today,” said R-P head coach Matt Pallett. “It was an incredible stretch of golf where she made big shot after big shot. Even after a not-so-great shot she came right back and answered with a good shot.
R-P medalists Olivia Ambler, left, and Sophia McCollum
“She has the mental toughness to finish events. It was not that the other girls played bad, Sophia just played better.”
The entire Reeths-Puffer squad had a very good day, shooting its best 18 rounds of the season and finishing with a score of 371, which was good for third place.
Lowell took first place with a 359.
Also standing out for the Rockets was junior Olivia Ambler, who had the best round of her varsity career with an 86. She had nine pars on the day, finished in fourth place in the individual standings and earned a medal.
Junior Ella Voorhies shot a 100 for the Rockets, with a pair of birdies. Senior Ava Gibbs turned in a personal best score of 107.
“Overall this was a great day for the Rockets,” Pallett said. “We shot a team season best and had three players - Olivia, Ava and Jaylynn Acre - shoot career personal bests. We also had two players - Sophia and Ella – really show mental toughness after some difficult starts. I am so proud of all of my girls.”
The Rockets will now move on to Tuesday’s Greater Muskegon Athletic Association Tournament (commonly known as the city tournament) at Chase Hammond, where they will try to defend their 2024 team championship.
McCollum will also be defending her individual title at the tournament.
“There are several teams in the mix this year,” Pallett said. “It should be a close event.”