AUSTIN—Lyndy Laurrell returned to the top of the leaderboard, a position she has hungered for ever since the conclusion of last year’s state tournament.
Laurrell posted a sparkling scorecard and smoked the rest of the field as she toured the course at nine-over-par to reclaim her state title status at the UIL Class 3A state golf tournament Tuesday afternoon at Grey Rock Golf Club.
Laurrell’s efforts could not rescue the Lady Tigers however, who added 18 strokes to their first day total to finish in second with a (373-391)—764, just five strokes behind winner Ingram-Tom Moore, which trailed Rock-dale by six strokes after the first day. Ingram-Moore added just one stroke in the second round.
It was the highest finish for a Rockdale girls team after two straight bronze medals. The Lady Tigers were making their fourth straight appearance at the state tournament.
Laurrell—who has participated in all four finals--was able to overcome seven bogies on Tuesday including missing the green on No. 10 and missing a short par putt on 11, to reclaim her state championship crown on a muggy afternoon on the 5,215-yard course.
“Very proud of my team,” she said. “It’s not the finish everybody wanted, but we all worked hard all season. I am super proud of the way I played. Coming out I just wanted to be able to back up my first score and I think I did that pretty well. I’m really excited.”
She went out with a bang after hitting her approach shot on the par-4 final hole just off the left off the green in the frog hair next to the bunker and then chipped up within six inches for an easy tap in and was all smiles a she grabbed the ball out of the cup and bounded towards the scorer’s tent.
She caught fire at the end and closed out the final round with six consecutive pars for a (75-78)—153 total.
“My putting definitely helped me out today. Kind of had a rough start at the beginning with a couple of bogies and when I made the turn I had three bogies in a row and I kind of had to come back from that. Everything was okay, just trying to be consistent.”
Laurrell—who will play collegiately at Southwestern—ended her first day with a pair of birdies on the final six holes for her 75 thanks to a 42 on the front nine and 43 on the back.
She scrambled on No. 17 after landing in the sand trap, but chipped up to within 10-feet and rolled in the birdie putt.
With the victory, Laurrell was able to pull off the trifecta for the second time in her career—taking district, regional and state championships, which she accomplished for the first time in 2016.
Her total was 12 strokes better than her winning 165 score in 2016. In 2017, Laurrell opened the tournament with a 74, but struggled to a disappointing 86 on the second day and had to settle for third place medalist and a bronze medal.
“Last year was rough, I didn’t get the outcome I wanted and I knew I could do better than how I did so coming out this year, I just wanted to stay positive and keep the team positive and have fun.”
With her win in 2016, Laurrell became to first Rockdale girls athlete to earn a gold medal in any sport. She doubled down Tuesday.
Laurrell was able to stave off McGregor’s Paige Gil-strap who trailed Laurrell by just three strokes on day one, but ballooned to an 82 on Tuesday for a 160 total.
“She had a goal when the season started after what happened last year and she achieved that,” said Rock-dale Coach Chris Joslin. “She played real well, real smart. There were several times she could have went for something and could have put her in trouble and didn’t and went for the smart play and that’s why she’s sitting where she is.”
“I think experience and the fact that she played smart went a long way for her.”
Eve King turned in a season-best 85 after the first round and had a 98 on Tuesday for a 183 total.
Trinady Joslin shaved a stroke off her first round score for a (106-105) 211 final score. Whitley Boyd followed with a (107-110)—217 and Payton Miller carded a (107-113)—220. Cameron slipped from fourth to seventh in round two and defending champion Sonora finished fourth.
“I thought our girls competed hard on both days, backed up a little bit today but that has to do with pressure,” Joslin said. “Obviously we wanted to win.”
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