By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Two of the top three teams in the latest Kentucky girls high school golf point standings — Louisville Sacred Heart and Cooper — placed first and second in a state tournament qualifier Monday on the Willows course at the Golf Courses of Kenton County.
It was a close battle that state points leader Sacred Heart won by just three strokes, 320-323, over Cooper, the No. 3 team in the state standings. Both teams advance to the state tournament Oct. 2-4 at Bowling Green Country Club.
Cooper golfer Eva Maley parred the last four holes to tie for medalist in the girls state qualifer. (Photo by Bob Jackson)
Cooper senior Eva Maley and Sacred Heart freshman Keira Yun tied for medalist honors in the qualifier with matching scores of 3-over-par 75.
One stroke behind them was Cooper junior Reagan Ramage with a 76 and Sacred Heart junior Emma Lindemoen tied for fourth place with a 78.
The other two scoring golfers for Cooper were seniors Kendall Brissey (82) and Ava Frank (90). The other two scoring golfers for Sacred Heart were sophomore Brooklynn Bohnert (82) and senior Grace Vernon (85).
Maley shot 1-over 37 on the back nine with pars on the last four holes to tie for the top spot on the leaderboard. Yun had a 39 and Ramage had a 38 on the 2,952-yard back nine.
Owen County placed third in the team standings to earn a state tournament berth. The 15 individual state qualifiers included Brossart junior Emma Laker (82), Ryle sophomore Anika Okuda (84), Notre Dame junior Dida Jiradamkerng (90) and Campbell County senior Allison Collins (91).
In last year’s state tournament, Cooper placed third in the team standings and Ramage tied for fifth place on the individual leaderboard to earn first-team all-state honors. Maley was a second-team all-state selection.
Boys golf teams will compete in a state tournament qualifier on Tuesday at Kenton County Willows. The field includes teams from Ryle, Covington Catholic and Highlands.
Complete results for the state qualifier are posted on the khsaa.org website.
