Smith and Lady Mounts earn LL Gold
- 29 September 2010
There are an unfortunate few who refer to themselves as "great range players."Warming up on the practice tee prior to a round, they can seemingly do no wrong.
Their ball striking is perfect, their timing impeccable and their accuracy is spot on.
Then they proceed to the first tee only to have the wheels fall off in horrific fashion.
While Lauren Smith shouldn't be included in that group, you'll have to forgive the Ephrata senior if she felt like she was headed in that direction Tuesday.
Despite a rocky start that saw her play the first five holes in 6-over par, Smith eventually righted the ship well enough to post 11-over 81 at Overlook Golf Course and win the Lancaster-Lebanon League girls' golf championship by two shots over teammate Lacey Bensing and by four over Manheim Township's Mary Beth Palic.
Counting scores from Megan Esterbrook (94) and Paige Hammaker (137), the Mountaineers also captured the team crown with a combined score of 395.
"When I came here today I was pumped," Smith said. "I felt confident, I felt relaxed and I felt calm. It was perfect.
"I was on the range (prior to the round) and I felt great," she added. "I thought I was going to have a great day today. I just didn't carry that onto the golf course."
Not right away, anyway.
Lauren Smith's 81 led Ephrata to the team title in
Tuesday's L-L League Girls' Golf Championship tournament at Overlook.
© Richard Hertzler / Intelligencer Staff
After an errant tee shot, a chunked bunker shot and a 3-putt led to a double bogey on the par-5 first, Smith made another bogey at the par-4 second after losing her tee shot into the right trees.
Following that with a double bogey at the par-3 third, where she dunked her approach shot in a greenside pond, Smith was suddenly 5-over after three holes.
Not exactly the kind of start she'd envisioned coming into the event.
"This year, my mindset was to win because I've been close to winning before and never finished it off," said Smith, who placed tied for second at last year's L-L Championships and third as a sophomore.
"So I knew I had to keep it (together) and I knew I still had a shot because there was a lot of golf left."
Starting with the short, par-4 third, where Smith hit a 75-yard approach to eight feet, setting up a birdie that stopped the bleeding for the moment.
"That boosted my confidence," she said. "And confidence is everything with golf."
She'd need it during a rollercoaster round that was far from over.
After another double bogey on the par-4 fifth and a bogey at the par-4 eighth, Smith made the turn in 7-over 42.
And from there, it was about staying together during a back-nine 39 that consisted of one birdie, one bogey and two double bogeys.
The last of those doubles came at the 18th hole, making the tournament a little closer than Smith might have liked.
"My goal for leagues was (to shoot in) the 70s," Smith said. "And I would have done that had I not doubled the last hole."
Still, she had enough breathing room.
Despite carding three double bogeys en route to a front-side 44, Bensing was only two shots off the lead at the turn.
Ephrata's Lacey Bensing, who finished second in
Tuesday's L-L Girls' Golf Championship, sizes up a putt at Overlook Golf Course.
© Richard Hertzler / Intelligencer Staff
But after playing the first five holes on the back in even-par, Bensing's chances eventually unraveled with a bogey-double-bogey finish.
Meanwhile, despite carding two double bogeys and a triple on the front, Palic was only one off the lead at the turn.
But after a double at the 10th and a bogey at No. 11 dropped her five shots off the pace, Palic never recovered.
She got within three of the lead with three holes left to play, but officially fell out of contention when she played the last two holes in 3-over.
"This (win) gives me a lot of confidence," said Smith, who will be the L-L's top representative in the District Three Girls' Championships, which are scheduled for Oct. 8-9 at Briarwood Golf Club in York.
"The past three years I've been in the top-10 at districts and the goal this year is to be in the top-5. So this is a good start."
Even if she didn't get off to such a great start Tuesday.
Notes: Any player who shot 115 or better in Tuesday's event qualified for districts. By virtue of its win Tuesday, Ephrata will represent the L-L in the district team competition, which will take place Tuesday at Briarwood.
We here at www.ephratamounts.com are proud sponsors of the Dodgeball for Diabetes tournament.