KETTERING – To limit Rocky River Magnificat’s surge past Dublin Jerome to the final nine holes of the Division I state girls golf tournament Tuesday might not tell the whole story, Celtics coach C.D. Butcher cautioned.
Jerome led by two shots halfway through the final round at a breezy and sometimes rainy NCR Country Club North Course, but the Celtics’ tricky start in Monday’s first round seemed to set the tone.
“You had to play really smart positioning, put the ball in the right place, and we might have attacked holes like it was earlier in the year,” Butcher said. “We played golf, but we didn’t play NCR that first nine holes (Monday).
“Magnificat took advantage of the shots they had. We just didn’t have a long putt or big chip, something to swing our momentum.”
Jerome senior Ellie Ryu shot 76 for the second consecutive day, overcoming a bogey and double bogey on her first two holes to shoot 3-over par the rest of the way, but Magnificat pulled away late to score 618 and win by 16 shots, spoiling the runner-up Celtics’ hopes of a championship repeat and eighth title overall.
Ryu, a Rutgers commit, finished at 12-over par 152 to tie for eighth individually.
“I did not let that (start) get the best of my round,” she said. “The greens, especially (Monday), you had to land short of the green and let the ball roll up because the ball didn’t stick at all. It definitely made you think.”
Freshman Adella Pawlowski’s final round of 79 and some timely strokes from classmate Nikitha Suresh helped Jerome, which went 265-1 this season, into the lead. The Celtics trailed Magnificat by five shots, 308-313, entering play Tuesday.
Senior Alexa Prettyman and Pawlowski tied for 19th (160). Freshman Nikitha Suresh tied for 25th (163).
Magnificat, which was second to Jerome by 11 shots a year ago, won its first championship in its 10th tournament.
Olentangy junior Meadow Tian was in first place after a first-round 70 but tied for second (146) with Medina Highland junior Elizabeth Coleman, three shots behind Cincinnati Sycamore’s Eva Becerril.
Becerril trailed Tian by five shots after the first round but shot 68 Tuesday.
“I feel like I struggled overall, especially with greens in regulation and fairways,” said Tian, who was sixth at state each of the past two years. “I didn’t really drop any putts (Tuesday). I was hoping I’d do better than the first two years, but I am happy with how I did, I guess.”
Led by junior Elle Furrow’s sixth-place finish (149), New Albany was third as a team (641).
Furrow shot 74 in the final round and nailed a 25-foot putt to end the tournament. It was her third birdie of a round that also included nine pars.
“I wasn’t trying to make it, just get it close,” said Furrow, who tied for 26th last year and was 52nd as a freshman. “I tried to make good bogeys and good pars, try to stay level and not get too greedy.
“The greens are really fast and kind of slopey. If you pay attention to the green a little bit, it helps.”
Sophomore Brooke Baker was 22nd (161) out of the No. 4 spot for the Eagles, followed by senior Ceci Coccia (162, tied for 23rd) and sophomore Allison Weisbrod (169, tied for 36th).
Olentangy Liberty senior Olivia Aronhalt, an Indiana-Indianapolis commit and the Patriots’ first state qualifier, tied for 12th (154). After two double bogeys in her first three holes, Aronhalt had eight pars and a birdie the rest of the way.
“I was fading everything and I typically draw the ball,” Aronhalt said. “I straightened that out on the back nine and just focused in.”
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio high school golf: Dublin Jerome girls earn state runner-up finish
