This year, four girls from the girls’ golf team qualified for regionals, which took place at the Neuse Golf Club. Following regionals, three of them qualified for states, which was held at Pinehurst No. 5.

Playing at the Neuse, sophomore Parker Bowman found the course to be more difficult compared to the conference courses. But, her long game covered for the duration of the match.

“I was hitting my drives pretty straight, along with my irons,” Bowman said. “But, my putting was pretty bad.”

Senior Morgan McPhatter agrees that the course was more difficult, for she noticed scores were higher than they normally were. Though, through thick and thin, McPhatter felt content with her results.

“I didn’t play great, but somehow I made states. So, I felt pretty good about it,” McPhatter said.

McPhatter shot a 97 at the regional match, qualifying her for states.

Also continuing to states were juniors Catherine Vivongsy, who placed second for the team at regionals with an 87, and Mary Kathryn Hederick, whose 85 led the team.

Vivongsy was the lone Cougar who qualified for states in 2018, finishing tied for 58th.

“Coming back this year, my game plan was to definitely improve off of what I shot last year,” Vivongsy said, “I also hoped to stay positive throughout the rounds.”

During the first round at states, the girls found their short game to not be in their favor, causing their first day to be shakier than expected.

“On the first day, my putting was not very good, and I could’ve fixed up a decent amount of shots,” Hederick said.

“My chipping and pitching on to the green cost me a lot strokes,” McPhatter said.

Although, on the second day, the girls improved greatly from their opening round.

“On the second day, I felt like I did a lot better,” Vivongsy said. “I found consistency in my putting stroke to match the greens, which helped lower my score a lot.”

Overall, the girls’ golf team experienced new opportunities, improved from their mistakes and made new friends.

“I think it was a good eye opener to show what I need to work on,” Hederick said. “But, it was really cool to see and meet a bunch of other female golfers.”

Through two days of play, the team placed 10th out of 11 teams. Individually, Vivongsy tied for 42nd, Hederick tied for 51st, and McPhatter placed 74th.

Check out our photo gallery of the 2019 season here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/AbXBpK97FGKQzrKW7