PINEHURST — The high school girls’ golf regular season concluded Tuesday and one Lady Raider is headed back to the postseason.
Richmond Senior High School and the other Mid-South Conference programs competed in their final 18-hole match at Gates Four Golf and Country Club.
Shooting a team season-low score, the Lady Raiders also locked in the third-place spot in the conference standings.
Using its top-three golfer’s scores, Richmond finished its round with a total score of 335. That count was 15 strokes fewer than the Lady Raiders’ other 18-hole match at Pinehurst No. 6 last week (350).
Taking third out of the four qualifying teams, the Lady Raiders added three points to their season total, ending the regular season with 18.5 points.
Pinecrest and Jack Britt high schools took first and second, respectively, in the final match and the final conference standings. Pinecrest won the regular season title with a final score of 30 points, followed by the Lady Buccaneers’ 23.5 points.
Overhills High School was fourth overall with 12 points and Pine Forest did not have enough golfers to qualify for team scoring.
“This was a great final outing for our team,” head coach Kevin Wallace said. “We were a young team this year and finishing third in a tough conference shows how much the girls have competed all season.
“I’m pleased with their individual efforts, as well as what we accomplished as a team,” he added. “The future looks bright as we’ll have all four girls back next year. And I’m so happy for Talley (Webb) for qualifying for regionals. She’s worked hard and deserves it.”
In addition to the top-three finish, sophomore golfer Talley Webb punched her ticket to the individual playoffs for the second season in a row.
The North Carolina High School Athletic Association used each golfer’s iWanamaker rating, a rating system for a golfer's skill level calculated based on performance in team stroke play events, to determine the final cut for the playoffs.
Webb, who had an iWR of 11.390, made the top 33 golfers who made the cut line for the 7A West regional championship. She was the No. 32-ranked golfer, ahead of final golfer Amy Han of Chapel Hill High School (11.694 iWR).
“I feel very appreciative to be in regionals again,” Webb shared. “I put in a lot of work to get where I’m at now, and I will continue to put in hard work to make more improvements.
“At regionals my goal is to make an 85 or lower and to make it to the state championship tournament this year,” she added.
At Gates Four, Webb shot a season-low 95 to lead the Lady Raiders. She shot a 49 on the front before ending the round with a 46 on the back nine.
On the season, Webb finished with a team-leading nine-hole average of 50 strokes. That ranked her 13th-best in the MSC.
Sophomore Kennedy Baldwin shot a season-low score of 116 at Gates Four, putting up 58s on both sides of the turn. Her season average was 60.25.
Sophomore Bayden Bendell and freshman Cadence McIver also competed in the season finale. Bendell posted a score of 124 (61, 63) and McIver was two shots behind her with a 126 (63, 63).
On the season, McIver averaged 61.75 shots per nine holes, while Bendell had a nine-hole average of 61.88.
The 7A West regional championship will be played Monday at Sapona Golf Club in Lexington. Webb’s tee time hasn’t been announced at the time of publication.
