2008 Girls’ Championship

Mariah Stackhouse Repeats as Georgia Girls' Champion
Fourteen-year-old cards 1-under-par 70 to win by five strokes

KENNESAW, Ga. – Fourteen-year-old Mariah Stackhouse of Riverdale scored the only sub-par round of the tournament – a 1-under 70 – to win her second-straight Georgia Girls Championship by five strokes over second-round leader Lacey Fears of Bonaire and Kendall Wright of Suwanee. Stackhouse finished at 6-over-par 219 for the 54-hole Championship, which took place at Marietta Country Club, June 16-18.

Anna Keith of Moultrie placed fourth at 226 (75-74-77), while Carrie Metz of Carnesville also carded 77 in the final round to finish in fifth place at 230. Roswell's Rinko Mitsunaga finished sixth overall at 231 (74-81-76). Kathryn Fowler of Americus, the 2007 Girls' Championship runner-up, placed seventh at 235 (79-80-76). Amira Alexander of Alpharetta and Jessica Haigwood of Roswell tied for eighth at 236, while Kimberly Graff of Lilburn and Isabella Skinner of Cumming tied for 10th at 237. Stackhouse, who entered the day trailing Fears by one stroke, played a steady final round, with three birdies and two bogeys. She carded her first birdie of the day on the 363-yard, par-4 fifth, sinking an 18-foot putt that lipped around the hole before dropping in. Although she and Fears both carded birdies on the 481-yard, par-5 eighth hole, Stackhouse had taken the lead by that point and didn't turn back. She closed out the round with a five-foot birdie putt on 18, despite mis-hitting her approach to the back of the green.

Fears, who improved upon her sixth place finish from the 2007 Championship, turned in a final-round 76 after carding a pair of 74s in the first two rounds.

Wright, meanwhile, playing one group ahead, scored a 72 in the final round – including five birdies and six bogeys – to tie Fears at 224 (78-74-72). Stackhouse, who started the tournament in fifth place after carding an opening-round 76, said the pressure of trying to defend her title didn't get to her. "I just went out and worked on my putting (before the next round)," she said. "I kept telling myself that I'm a good putter, and I just needed to have that confidence." After posting a steady 73 in the second round, she said today's round was just about having fun.

"I had a lot of fun today," she said. "I enjoyed playing with Lacey (Fears) and Anna (Keith). They kept things really relaxed."

Stackhouse becomes the seventh golfer to win multiple titles in the 29 years of the Georgia Girls' Championship, joining Nanci Bowen of Tifton (1981-84), Kelly Pittman of Vidalia (1987-88), Wendi Patterson of Atlanta (1991-92), Angela Jerman of Columbus (1995-96), Jean Reynolds of Newnan (2000-02) and Jennifer Adyorough of Atlanta (2004-05). Stackhouse has also this year successfully defended both GSGA titles she won in 2007 – the Georgia Women's Match Play and Girls' Championships. A total of 28 players (those with a handicap index of 14.4 or lower) competed for the overall title and were divided into three flights – Championship A, B and C. The Championship flights played 54 holes with a course setup of 5,971 yards and a par 71.

Metz was the winner in the Championship B flight, while Mitsunaga placed second at 231. There was a one-hole playoff for third place in the flight between Graff and Skinner. Graff scored a par on No. 1 to secure the honor.

Eleven-year-old Michaela Owen dominated in the Championship C flight, scoring 250 to win by 23 strokes. Katy Harris of St. Simons Island placed second, with Sabrina Rumbaugh of Fort Benning placing third in the flight. The top four overall finishers – Stackhouse, Wright, Fears and Keith – have been invited to represent Georgia in the third annual Georgia-South Carolina Girls' Junior Challenge Match, a match-play team competition between the two states. This year's competition takes place July 18-19 at Sea Island Golf Club in St. Simons Island. Entries were open to female amateur golfers between the ages of nine and 17 who are GSGA members or dependents of GSGA members.

 

Final Results

Top Ten Overall
1 Mariah Stackhouse, Riverdale 76 73 70 219 6
T2 Kendall Wright, Suwanee 78 74 72 224 11
T2 Lacey Fears, Bonaire 74 74 76 224 11
4 Anna Keith, Moultrie 75 74 77 226 13
5 Carrie Metz, Carnesville 80 73 77 230 17
6 Rinko Mitsunaga, Roswell 74 81 76 231 18
7 Kathryn Fowler, Americus 79 80 76 235 22
T8 Amira Alexander, Alpharetta 81 77 78 236 23
T8 Jessica Haigwood, Roswell 78 79 79 236 23
T10 Kimberly Graff, Lilburn 81 79 77 237 24
T10 Isabella Skinner, Cumming 79 78 80 237 24

Championship A
1 Mariah Stackhouse, Riverdale 76 73 70 219 6
T2 Kendall Wright, Suwanee 78 74 72 224 11
T2 Lacey Fears, Bonaire 74 74 76 224 11
4 Anna Keith, Moultrie 75 74 77 226 13
5 Kathryn Fowler, Americus 79 80 76 235 22
T6 Amira Alexander, Alpharetta 81 77 78 236 23
T6 Jessica Haigwood, Roswell 78 79 79 236 23
8 Sloan Shanahan, Suwanee 80 81 77 238 25
9 Abby Johnson, Braselton 84 75 84 243 30
10 Jessica Welch, Lavonia 84 82 83 249 36
11 Maggie Siddons, Acworth 93 92 79 264 51

 

Championship B
1 Carrie Metz, Carnesville 80 73 77 230 17
2 Rinko Mitsunaga, Roswell 74 81 76 231 18
T3 Kimberly Graff, Lilburn 81 79 77 237 24
T3 Isabella Skinner, Cumming 79 78 80 237 24
5 Carry Barbee, Cartersville 74 81 84 239 26
T6 Caitlin Watts, LaGrange 80 81 80 241 28
T6 Katie Voll, Alpharetta 80 77 84 241 28
8 Alicia Rowedder, Acworth 92 87 82 261 48
9 Lauren Court, Lawrenceville 85 90 93 268 55

 

Championship C
1 Michaela Owen, Alpharetta 85 78 87 250 37
2 Katy Harris, St. Simons Island 87 94 92 273 60
3 Sabrina Rumbaugh, Fort Benning 94 98 87 279 66
4 Sydney Conrad, Powder Springs 88 91 102 281 68
5 Camryn Cole, Gainesville 87 100 96 283 70
6 Kiersten Rom, Lawrenceville 97 102 97 296 83
7 Mary Kate Linder, Athens 100 97 101 298 85
8 Jessica Walker, Marietta 93 108 100 301 88