GIRLS GOLF: Competitors swing through harsh weather in first round of Region I-2A Championships

Before Wednesday’s first round of the Region I-2A Girls Golf Championships, many of the participants had to re-think their strategy for each shot.

Colder weather, along with sleet, forced each player to wear extra layers of clothing and changed nearly every swing with those constraints at Ratliff Ranch Golf Links.

As the sky cleared, both Iraan and McCamey had struggled through the first round. The Badgers (451) sit in 11th place, while the Braves (452) are in a tie for 12th with Anson.

Vega (370) is in first place followed by Stratford (378) in second place. Wellington and Christoval (392) are in a tie for third, the final state-tournament automatic qualifying spot.

1 of 2

Forsan’s Razyl Yanez (76) is the individual leader after 18 holes, three strokes better than Wellington’s Kamri Ashmore (79) in second place. Forsan’s Jillian Jones and Stratford’s Katelin Berry (82) are in a tie for third.

Wink’s Sarah Turnbo (83) is tied for fifth with Christoval’s Taylor Tomlinson and Vega’s Allie Joyce. Van Horn’s Annika Corralez (88) is in a tie for eighth.

“I’ve seen conditions worse, but this is probably in the top five I’ve ever played in as far as bad conditions.,” Iraan head coach Brant Myers said. “The first nine holes were brutal, after that it got better.”

Myers added that the conditions forced the Braves to shoot around 25 to 30 strokes higher than the team’s average.

“Honestly coming into this, we weren’t really sure but we just had to keep our hopes up and just do our best,” Iraan senior Savanna Welton said. “All our other tournaments have been pretty warm and this was new for us this year. We did our best.”

Along with the top three teams advancing to state, the top three individuals not on that trio of teams will also move on to the Class 2A State Tournament scheduled for May 21 and 22 at Roy Kizer Golf Course in Austin.

If current results hold, Turnbo is on the cusp of qualifying, while Corralez has a few more golfers to pass to advance.

“I’m not really worried about where I stand, but I do hope I can come back tomorrow and play better,” Turnbo said.

Turnbo said that through three holes, she was 7-over par. With a better start today, advancing to the state tournament is well within reach.

That route to Austin will be much tougher for McCamey and Iraan, which are nearly 60 strokes back of a top-three spot.

“They seemed better when they finished, rather than when they came around the turn, they were like “please no more”, but they finished better today than when they began,” McCamey head coach Amy Acosta said. “They usually respond well the second day. I’m expecting them to PR for this year, whether we go to state or not.”

Today’s forecast is slated to be in the 80s all day, about 30 degrees warmer than Wednesday, which should see the golfers more comfortable in the final round. Scores should be much lower too.

“We just have to focus on every shot we make,” McCamey junior Demre Abalos said about her expectations for the final round. “If we make a bad one, just recover on the next shot.”

Myers also expects his team to do much better in the second round, hopefully score in the 420s.

“We’re very capable of that,” Myers said. “We’ve shot 430s several times this year … if you get five strokes a kid that puts you at 432. If we could get in the 420s I’d be happy.”