Girls golf: Best round ever has Monahans on verge of first state title

AUSTIN There was no scoreboard at Roy Kizer Golf Course, no tangible way to know exactly what was happening in the UIL Class 3A Girls State Golf Championships.

But for the five players representing Monahans High School - Shelbye Hill, Jordan Jernigan, Victoria Moore, Allison Parks and Courtney Rutledge - it wasn't exactly rocket science to figure out how the first round was unfolding.

Throngs of green-clad Lady Loboes fans galleried around the course with smiles and applause, serving as a reminder that this program's time had come.

Monahans, in turn, fired a program-record 305 for a 20-stroke lead heading into today's final round. The program's first team state championship in girls golf isn't secured, but a lot of the heavy lifting toward that goal certainly was accomplished.

"Really, it's just you play your individual game and then when you get down to the bottom of it, you figure out how your team did," Hill said. "At the turn, I pretty much knew that we were playing really good, really solid. I was just hoping the back side finished up as solid as the front side had been. We knew we had to come out and play because the other competition was really hard.

"We just figured if we came out and played our ‘A' game, we would be pretty OK with that."

Try very OK.

Hill's 73 led the way and is tied for second in the medalist standings while Jernigan cranked out a 75 that stands fourth. Courtney Rutledge followed with a 77 that puts her fifth individually and Moore's 80 is part of a ninth-place medalist tie.

Parks did her part as well with an 82, though it wasn't used for team scoring purposes on this day as the Lady Loboes built a 20-shot lead on two-time defending state champ Andrews (325).

"I think it's just the practice and everything we've done together," said Jernigan, a senior who has signed to play with McLennan Community College. "We've done a lot of team bonding and that helps, also. We just decided we were going to go out here and have fun. Coming in with those scores helps a lot."

Lady Loboes head coach Becky Hix naturally was thrilled - "It's more than we could've ever asked for at state," she said - but wants her players to keep in mind what happened a year ago when they finished second.

Every team in the 3A girls tournament fell back in the second round, including a 19-stroke balloon for the Lady Loboes.

"We always emphasize the second day," Hix said. "The second day's always the hardest. They know that. Day 2, of course, wins you the tournament. This is a mature group, so that helps the mentality."

Call it maturity or experience or what you will, but the Lady Loboes have all five players back who slogged through the humid Central Texas conditions a year ago and figured out just how tough it would be to win a state championship.

They now have 18 holes each to finish what they got started, and the celebration could get a little noisy.

"It's really amazing to see how many people came out to support us," Hill said of a group Lady Loboes supporters ranging around 100. "I think that helped us a lot knowing there were plenty of people out here behind us 100 percent. It was amazing to see all the green people on the back on the 18th green coming in."

Most of those people will be surrounding the No. 9 green to close out today's final round.

And this time, the Lady Loboes hope to share the most amazing feeling in program history.