PINEHURST – Most weekend golfers can only dream of playing the rolling hills of Pinehurst No. 1, but for Richmond Senior High School sophomore golfer Hailey Miller, that dream was a reality earlier this week.
Miller was the only Lady Raiders golfer to qualify for the North Carolina High School Athletic Association state golf tournament, and was in action on Pinehurst No. 1 on Monday and Tuesday.
In the opening round of the two-day tournament, Miller shot a 100, and followed up with a 96 on Tuesday. Her overall score of 196 (+52) landed her firmly in 74th place.
“It was a great experience to see all of the competition,” Miller said. “I didn’t play like I wanted to, and it was rough getting things to work the way I wanted them to.”
Jennifer Chang, who attends Athens Drive High School in Wake County, was the tournament winner. She shot a tournament best -5, finishing with a 69 on Monday and a 70 on Tuesday. Her combined score of 139 was seven strokes better than second-place finisher Kayla Ward (Wake County).
Head coach Jeff Ingram was proud of Miller’s performance for the year.
“It is really something for a tenth grader to make the state playoffs,” Ingram said. “Hailey has two more years to get even better. She plans to practice even more and enter more tournaments this summer. She has a future in golf.”
And Miller feels optimistic about her next two years, too.
“To be only a sophomore and make it to states means it’s the first step to get me where I want to be,” Miller noted. “But I’m going to have to work hard to be where I want to be in the next two years.”
