KAYSVILLE — A historic occasion took place Tuesday as the Davis Park Golf Course hosted the first ever UHSAA Girls State Golf Championship in a combined format for 4A and 5A classifications.
Tooele's Sadie Palmer posted the only score under par with a 68 to capture the individual medalist title. The team title went to Dixie with a 237 score.
On a cold but clear day, shadows fell over the course as Bonneville and Skyline returned to the first hole to decide who would take home the second place trophy. Both schools posted a 246 overall score and Bonneville prevailed on the second playoff hole to earn second place.
Palmer posted her score early and nervously watched in the clubhouse as the remainder of the field finished with higher scores. She started off her round with two pars before she birdied the par 5 third hole. She said, "My eagle putt just lipped out." She was cruising at six under par coming into the unlucky thirteenth hole. She described it like this: "I hit a good first shot. My second shot ended up in the sand just under the lip. I tried to hit it out but I was still in the sand."
She was really disappointed at that point because she said she was going for a 65. But she took a couple of deep breaths and kept her composure. "But I didn't make another birdie," she said. She added that she putted really good and that was unusual for her. "Actually, everything just came together," she said.
Everyone's pre-tournament favorite, Kelsey Vines from Dixie headed the last foursome of golfers which included Skyline's Jenteal Jackson, Murray's Annika Afoa and Brighton's Kiki Collinsworth. The jitters appeared to affect this group as they all bogeyed the first hole. After parring the second hole Vines hit a long drive within about 100 yards on the par 5 third hole. Her approach landed 10 feet from the pin and she calmly knocked it in for an Eagle and appeared to be on her way. But she only managed a 73 for fourth place but did lead Dixie to the team championship.
Dixie coach Eron Deming said, "Everyone said we had a good team, but you just never know ... " Cottonwood took fourth place led by the Fox twins, Stephanie and Monica, with a 75 and 77 respectively.
Palmer also disclosed that she had never shot in the 60s before but she was the Region 7 champion and has signed to play for Southern Utah University.
The only reason that 4A and 5A were combined was that it was not known how much interest would be shown by the girl golfers, but the high turnout of participants ensures that next year each classification will have its own tournament.
1A BOYS GOLF: At Riverton, the Lions of Intermountain Christian set the pace with a score of 332 after the first day of the 1A boys golf championships.
Four ICS golfers are in the top 10, with Jake Eyre posting a score of 81 after 18 holes and Wes Poulson close behind at 82. Logan Froerer of St. Joseph is currently in third at 83.
Play tees off today at Riverbend Golf Course for the final 18 holes. Milford and Valley are both 36 strokes behind the Lions, while the Jayhawks of St. Joseph are in fourth place at 377.
E-mail: wjewkes@desnews.com