2009 Girls’ Championship

Carrie Metz Cruises to Georgia Girls' Championship Title
Wire-to-wire leader breaks tournament scoring record in 14-stroke victory

CUMMING, Ga. -- Seventeen-year-old Carrie Metz of Carnesville carded a final-round 69 for a record-breaking tournament total of 6-under-par 210 and a 14-stroke victory in the 30th annual Georgia Girls' Championship, which took place at Polo Golf and Country Club, June 15-17.

Championship B flight competitor Caitlin Watts of LaGrange finished second at 8-over 224, while a pair of 12-year-olds, Rinko Mitsunaga of Roswell and Rachel Dai of Suwanee, placed third and fourth, respectively, with scores of 227 and 228. Sloan Shanahan of Suwanee carded a 73 in the final round to move up to a tie for fifth place overall with Jessica Welch of Lavonia at 230. Dayana Marquez of Atlanta finished seventh overall at 232. Judy Nam of Buford and Championship C flight winner Haley Austin of McDonough tied for eighth at 237. Taylor McGraw of Forsyth came out of the D flight to finish 10th overall at 238 with a final-round 77.

Metz, who began the day with an eight-stroke lead over Watts, started the round with three birdies over her first seven holes. A bogey at No. 9 gave her a 2-under 34 at the turn, increasing her comfortable lead over the rest of the field. On the back nine she carded seven straight pars before a birdie on the par-5, 485-yard 17th. Her 12-foot birdie putt on 18 just slid by the hole, and she settled for par and a 3-under 69 for the day.

Metz shattered the previous 54-hole scoring record of 215 in this event, set by current LPGA Futures Tour player Jean Reynolds of Newnan in 2002. It was Metz's first Georgia Girls' title, although it marked her fourth top-10 finish in this event over the last five years. She placed fifth overall last year, finished fourth in 2006 and tied for eighth in 2005.

Mitsunaga, one of the youngest players among the Championship flight competitors, posted her second-straight top-10 finish in this event after placing sixth in 2008.

A total of 37 players (those with a handicap index of 14.4 or lower) competed in the Championship Division for the overall title and were divided into four flights – A through D. The Championship flights played 54 holes (18 each day) with the course set at 6,041 yards and a par 72.

Entries were open to female amateur golfers between the ages of nine and 17 who are GSGA members or dependents of GSGA members.

The top four overall finishers age 13 and over – which included Metz, Watts, Shanahan and Welch – were invited to represent Georgia in the fourth annual Georgia-South Carolina Girls' Junior Challenge Match, a match-play team competition between the two states. This year's competition takes place August 8-9 at Oldfield Golf Club in Okatie, S.C. Metz, who will be making her third appearance on the team, is the only Georgia player in the history of the event to participate more than once.

 

Final Results

 

Top Ten Overall
1 Carrie Metz, Carnesville 68 73 69 210 -6
2 Caitlin Watts, LaGrange 74 75 75 224 8
3 Rinko Mitsunaga, Roswell 73 78 76 227 11
4 Rachel Dai, Suwanee 79 74 75 228 12
T5 Sloan Shanahan, Suwanee 81 76 73 230 14
T5 Jessica Welch, Lavonia 72 78 80 230 14
7 Dayana Marquez, Atlanta 77 76 79 232 16
T8 Judy Nam, Buford 79 78 80 237 21
T8 Haley Austin, McDonough 78 80 79 237 21
10 Taylor McGraw, Forsyth 81 80 77 238 22

Championship A
1 Carrie Metz, Carnesville 68 73 69 210 -6
2 Rinko Mitsunaga, Roswell 73 78 76 227 11
3 Sloan Shanahan, Suwanee 81 76 73 230 14
4 Judy Nam, Buford 79 78 80 237 21
5 Lindsay Adams, Lawrenceville 77 85 77 239 23
6 Lacey Fears, Bonaire 79 80 84 243 27
7 Isabella Skinner, Cumming 81 82 82 245 29
8 Jessica Haigwood, Roswell 83 83 83 249 33
9 Katie Voll, Alpharetta 89 85 79 253 37

 

Championship B
1 Caitlin Watts, LaGrange 74 75 75 224 8
2 Rachel Dai, Suwanee 79 74 75 228 12
3 Jessica Welch, Lavonia 72 78 80 230 14
4 Dayana Marquez, Atlanta 77 76 79 232 16
5 Michaela Owen, Alpharetta 81 78 83 242 26
6 Brittany Jarrett, Tifton 86 80 80 246 30
7 Katy Harris, St. Simons Island 81 83 83 247 31
8 Katie Dalton, Vidalia 86 83 93 262 46
9 Lauren Court, Lawrenceville 87 88 91 266 50

 

Championship C
1 Haley Austin, McDonough 78 80 79 237 21
2 Taylor Blair, Roswell 83 85 75 243 27
3 Camryn Cole, Gainesville 81 82 86 249 33
4 Elizabeth Kim, Martinez 85 79 86 250 34
5 Jackie Rajek, Suwanee 81 90 80 251 35
6 Kayla Jones, Alpharetta 84 84 84 252 36
7 Sydney Conrad, Powder Springs 91 86 83 260 44
8 Stephanie Simmons, Rincon 89 86 87 262 46
9 Jerrah Baker, Canton 94 96 90 280 64

 

Championship D
1 Taylor McGraw, Forsyth 81 80 77 238 22
2 Kaylee Random, Alpharetta 83 87 85 255 39
3 Alexandra Karr, Duluth 90 87 83 260 44
4 Kayley Marschke, Suwanee 91 84 86 261 45
5 Bailey Tardy, Norcross 89 86 87 262 46
6 Katarina Hodge, Dublin 90 88 87 265 49
7 Ashley Frier, Buford 90 95 85 270 54
8 Megan Sabol, Martinez 93 93 89 275 59
9 Mary Ellen Shuman, St. Simons Island 97 96 91 284 68
10 Jordan Krahn, Lawrenceville 106 99 106 311 95