CARMEL — It comes with little surprise as to which teams hold the top four scores after the first round of Girls Golf State Finals.
All four teams were ranked in the top four leading into the state competition, including No. 3-ranked Columbus North. North coach Scott Seavers said the Bull Dogs did not play their best, but that didn’t stop them from holding a fourth-place spot after a 326 after the first round at Prairie View Golf Club.
No. 1 Zionsville is currently in first at 299, and No. 2 Westfield is 17 strokes behind with 316. No. 4 and three-time defending state champion Evansville North is eight strokes ahead of Columbus North with 318 in third place. No. 6 Carmel and No. 8 Fishers are tied for fifth at 329.
“We didn’t play horrible, but we can definitely do better (today),” Seavers said. “I’m going to try and get them to focus on (today), start fresh and take one hole at a time.”
Danbi Kim’s first round performance wasn’t as good as she wanted it to be, but it was still good enough to put her ninth in the individual standings. She carded a 39 on the front nine and came back with a 37 on the back to finish with a 76.
Kim is currently six strokes out of first place. She came into the competition looking to place in the top 10, but said she will only be focused on hitting the fairway, hitting the green and putting the ball in the hole. She said will give none of her attention to keeping track of anyone else’s score.
“I double-bogeyed a lot of holes, and my putting wasn’t the best, but I’m not really that upset with how I shot because I know (today), I’m going to do way better,” Kim said. “The stuff that I made mistakes on today was club choices, so I’m definitely going to fix those (today) and do better.”
Alex Munnicha shot a 42 on the front nine and finished the back nine with a 38, posting an 80. Annie Anderson shot 41-43 to finish with an 84.
Nathaly Munnicha shot a 43 on both nines for an 86. Julia Luken carded an 89 after shooting 44-45.
“We struggled on the front nine, but then we leveled off and got a little bit better on the back nine,” Seavers said. “That’s what I look forward to. Can we steady the ship when things go bad, and can we improve from there? We did that.”
