CARMEL
It was a cool and fairly damp morning when Seymour’s Bridget Marshall teed off for the first time at the IHSAA girls golf state finals.
Making her debut at the event — kicking it off as the very first golfer to launch a ball into a fairway — she dealt with conditions vastly different from what she’s had to battle the entire season.
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As opposed to dry courses and 90-degree temperatures, 50-degree temperatures and wet greens and fairways greeted Marshall and the rest of the field and threw most of them for a loop.
Balls that would typically bounce on greens or fairways and roll another hand full of yards instead would hit the ground and stay stuck. This became especially frustrating on the greens where putts normally slotted right into the cup fell short.
Marshall hung tough amidst the conditions, finishing Day 1 with a 92 (+20) with plenty of room for improvement for today’s second round.
Starting the day on the back nine, Marshall overcame an early double bogey on hole No. 10 and had back-to-back pars on Nos. 11 and 12.
A string of bogeys on holes 13 thru 16 were quickly wiped away with an impressive birdie on the long Par-4 No. 17.
She was set up for another par opportunity on the always tough No. 18 at Prairie View Golf Club, but an issue with a rake in the sand trap caused her to spend two strokes to get out of the bunker.
Bogies plagued Marshall on the front nine, but she was able to finish the day strong with back-to-back pars on holes Nos. 8 and 9. The ninth hole typically gives most golfers trouble with the water hazard to the right of the hole and the rough to left. It’s where many pick up strokes, but Marshall was one of a few players to finish the hole unscathed.
Conditions will be roughly the same this morning for the second day of the state tournament.