Hedge defeats Shrum in 1st playoff hole

Friday, September 17, 2010
GHS junior Katie Hedge won overall medalist honors after defeating Sydney Shrum of Cloverdale in the first playoff hole Thursday.

CLOVERDALE -- After hours of golf in cool windy conditions, it came down to one hole to decide the medalist at the Putnam County Golf Tournament Thursday. Overall, Greencastle edged South Putnam 206-208 to win the tournament, with North Putnam finishing third with 215 and Cloverdale in fourth with a 224.

When the players came to the clubhouse and the scores were tallied, Greencastle's Katie Hedge and Cloverdale's Sydney Shrum tied for low round with 46, so the duo headed back to the course for a playoff to determine the winner.

Both players hit perfect tee shots to give each a clear shot to the green, but the difference came on their second shots. Hedge's approach landed on the green, but Shrum's went off the back of the green. Shrum's lag putt finished well short of the hole, resulting in her needing three total putts to finish with a five.

Members of the 2010 Putnam County Champion Greencastle Tiger Cubs are (left) McKenzie St. Marie, Chelsea Samuels, Diane Wokoun, Kay Wood, Katie Hedge and head coach Brad Kingma.

Hedge eyed her putt, stroked it and left herself with a short putt for par, which she drained to capture 2010 medalist honors.

"Katie played well," GHS head coach Brad Kingma said. "Conditions were tough so the scores were a little harder to get out there. It was good for her to come through and hopefully that will help her confidence. She's been struggling with her short game and putting, so to come through in the clutch with a good two putt is what she need to get that par."

Greencastle's No. 1 golfer Chelsea Samuels struggled from the get-go but was able to bounce back and come to the clubhouse with a 47.

"Chelsea struggled a little out of the gate. She had a couple penalties, but then she started coming on," Kingma said.

Kingma said Samuels began with two triple bogeys and one double bogey to start her round.

Diane Wokoun shot a 52 on the night for GHS, and Kay Wood shot a 63. But it was McKenzie St. Marie who shot a 61 that gave the Tiger Cubs the edge in the end.

"It was close," Kingma commented. "It's been, actually, since the first week that we counted Kenzie's score and she was two better than Kay, so that was actually the difference was her coming through. For her it was a good round. She had been struggling, so for her to play the way she's kind of been playing helps."

Hedge, Samuels and Wokoun earned All-County honors for GHS.

South Putnam had solid scoring across the board and came within striking distance of the Tiger Cubs.

Cierra Perry led the way for the Eagles with a 47, with Caitlyn Boyce and Robbie Urton carding a pair of 53s. Kelsey Searles shot a 55 and Emily Urton fired a 56.

"The girls played very well tonight (Thursday)," Eagles head coach Debbie Steffy said. "We have had girls step up all season for us. I am really happy for Cierra making All-County. All five of our girls were disappointed as they thought back on the 9 holes and places where they could have shaved some strokes. They realize that a chip or putt here and there can make a huge difference."

Perry was South Putnam's lone All-County member.

Steffy also tipped her cap to the Tiger Cubs and their performance.

"Congratulations to Coach Kingma and the Greencastle girls. They have worked hard and deserve the title," she said.

North Putnam continued to show its improvement this season, placing third on the night and having one player named to the All-County squad.

Josie Parent led the Cougars with a 51 to earn All-County honors. Carlie Shearer and Valerie Scott shot a 54, with Ellen Wilborn shooting a 56 and Emmy Rees carding a 60.

"I was hoping we could all be in the low 50s," North Putnam head coach Linda Patrick said. "A lot of wind conditions tonight, but we had one girl, she got her goal of wanting to get in the top seven in the county and we're happy for her. We did pretty decent this year. We're going to move on.

"We've worked really hard on lots of things. They have these goals in their minds, so we have Saturday and we'll see what happens then. I'm very happy with them. -- very pleased with them," she said.

In addition to Shrum's 46, Victoria Boyette shot a 51, with Cedar Woodworth adding a 62 and McKayla Moore a 65. Shrum and Boyette earned All-County for their performances.

Cloverdale head coach Ken Williams was unavailable for comment following the round.

All four teams will compete at the Northview Sectional Saturday at 8 a.m.

At Cloverdale

Greencastle 206, South Putnam 208, North Putnam 215, Cloverdale 224

Medalist -- Hedge (GHS) 46

Greencastle -- Hedge 46, Samuels 47, Wokoun 52, St. Marie 61, Wood 63

South Putnam -- Perry 47, R. Urton 53, Boyce 53, Searles 55, E. Urton 56

North Putnam -- Parent 51, Scott 54, Shearer 54, Wilborn 56, Rees 60

Cloverdale -- Shrum 46, Boyette 51, Woodworth 52, Moore 65

Won on first playoff hole

Next match -- All four teams will compete at the Northview Sectional Saturday at 8 a.m.