Snow satisfied

ANDERSON — The score wasn’t what she hoped it would be.

But for Maddy Snow, advancing through the sectional and getting to play another round in the tournament was a satisfying way to end her career.

Snow, a Jay County High School senior, shot a 100 as she played her final 18 holes as a Patriot in Saturday’s regional tournament hosted by Lapel at Edgewood Golf Club.

“Coulda been worse, coulda been better,” said Snow, who was a regional qualifier for the first time. “Just happy to be here.”

Her score was not in contention for advancing to the state finals — the top three teams and top three individuals not on advancing teams move on — as Tipton’s Josephine Butler earned the last spot with her 76.

Peityn Gillman (72) of Union County and AnnaBelle Marshall (74) of the host Bulldogs claimed the other individual berths.

Second-ranked Nobles-ville, led by individual champion Josie Kelley with a 2-under-par 68, won the regional title with a 294. No. 5 Hamilton Southeastern (302) was a solid second place, with New Palestine (334) a distant third.

Snow had difficulties from the start, as her shot on the 220-yard, par-4 first hole sailed well to the right and ended up behind the Edgewood water tower. She had no opportunity to attack the green and instead was forced to chip back into the fairway.

She hit her third shot to the fringe above the hole and two-putted for a bogey, but the problems off the tee continued in the early going. Leaving her tee shots to the right, she recorded triple bogeys on the 230-yard second hole and the 265-yard third — both par 4s — to sit at 7-over with 15 holes left.

“We started out rough for the first few holes,” said JCHS coach Carissa Allred. “We tried to fix some of the technique issues that we have been working on over the week.

“But she finished really strong on the first nine.”

Snow rebounded to par the 255-yard, par-4 fourth hole and closed the front nine strong. After recording her second par on the 115-yard, par-3 eighth, she hit her tee shot on the 245-yard, par-4 ninth hole just short of the green on the right side. She chipped over a bunker to give herself a birdie putt and then sank it for her lone biride of the day.

The scoring momentum didn’t hold up on the back nine at Edgewood, though, as she went without a par.

While the score was not her best, it still kept her ahead of 27 others who competed in the regional.

“I’m really excited,” she added later. “It might not have been my best round, but it definitely was up there with the weather and the time that we were stopped. I’m just really, really proud of myself and happy to be here.”