A bogey on her final hole might have bothered Columbus Academy golfer Eva Lim for a while Sunday, but her overall round kept her and her team in prime position for their ultimate goals at the Division II state tournament.
Lim, a sophomore, took a 40-foot putt to within 3 feet of the hole on No. 18 at windy Firestone Country Club in Akron and tapped in from there, finishing with a 2-over par 72 and pacing two-time defending champion Academy’s 11-shot lead entering Monday’s final round.
“I had to get used to the greens but on the back nine, I got into a groove,” said Lim, who had four birdies and nine pars. “I made putts and I was more confident in my shots. I two-putted for a birdie on (No.) 17 and maybe I was thinking too much on my drive on 18, so I missed on the right. I had a tough shot in, so I had to lay up.
“We just have to stay in the moment, not look back and not look too far ahead. If we focus on every single shot when we get there, we should be good.”
Lim leads Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy freshman Sophia Zink by a shot.
Senior Caroline Zeiger shot a 78 for Academy (339). Sophomore Meera Srini followed with a 92 out of the fifth spot, and sophomore Rosemary Jenkins and freshman Claire Zeiger both shot 97.
Sugarcreek Garaway, which graduated its entire top five after finishing second to Academy a year ago, enters Monday in second (350). Cincinnati Madeira (350), Ravenna Southeast (355) and Middletown Fenwick (357) round out the top five.
Westfall senior Paige Weiss is third individually with a 75, and the Mustangs are sixth (363) as a team.
Weiss shot a 34 on the front nine but 41 on the back.
Also scoring for Westfall were seniors Caroline Sever (90) and Marianna Packer (94) and sophomore Michelle Pickett (104).
Columbus School for Girls senior Kristina Ma is tied for sixth (78).
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Most of the first round was played under cloudy skies with temperatures in the mid-60s after rain fell in the area overnight.
Monday’s forecast high is 51, with some showers expected early in the day.
“Tomorrow will be a whole new day,” Academy coach Maggie Freytag said. “We will just come out and do the best we can. We’ll see what happens.”
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: OHSAA girls golf: Columbus Academy closes in on state title three-peat
