2A District 5-6 girls tournament features two of the best at Lakeview Golf & Country Club

I remember getting the assignment last year, “We want you to go down to Richland and cover the 2A girls state golf tournament at Columbia Point Golf Course.”

I’m thinking, yeah right, travel 160 miles round trip to see a bunch of kids shoot 110? Looking in the rear-view mirror, I am so glad I did. Otherwise I would have missed the shootout of the season between eventual 2A state champion Morgan Baum from East Valley and the Columbia Basin Bomber, Kenedee Peters from Ephrata.

I photographed the first four holes, then came back to the clubhouse to edit with the idea of covering the back nine hole-for-hole to the end. As the group made the turn I asked Baum what she shot on the front? She looked at me like she wasn’t supposed to talk to strangers. I guess she wasn’t impressed with the press badge I was wearing. I should have made a Golf Digest badge in the photo shop.

“Oh, 3-under,” she said, talking into her putter cover.

Yeah right, 3-under what? Par? You gotta be kidding me? Come to find out Baum made the turn at 3-under-par and Peters was 1-under. The 2016 was decided by a single stroke. Baum erased a two-stroke deficit with a spectacular 69 on the final day to beat Peters, who shot 71, by one for the 2A medalist honors.

Round 2 is coming to the Lakeview Golf & Country Club in Soap Lake on May 15 for the 2A District 5-6 tournament. Baum is a year older, a little bit stronger and the defending state champion.

Peters, a junior, has given a verbal commitment to Washington State University. She’s been averaging 15 additional yards off the tee and playing the home course. Expect golf at its finest.

You’ll notice I didn’t say girls golf or 2A girls golf. These two kids are sticks and I fully expect both of them to light up Lakeview. The postage stamp sized greens and the tree lined fairways are only scary to you and me.

Baum and Peters might say there’s no pressure, but they will both be in marching mode and ready to build a full head of steam rolling into yet another shootout at Indian Canyon Golf Club in Spokane on May 23-24 at the state tournament.

But first there’s Lakeview Golf & Country Club, where Peters went low, I mean really low, with a 1-under-par 70 on Thursday.

“Right now, I am hands down playing the best I’ve ever played,” she said. “I’ve been working really, really hard on the fundamentals and mechanics of my game.”

Even if you’re not an Ephrata Tiger fan or a golfer for that matter, this is a chance to see something you don’t see every day, and I’ve been doing this a long time. This will be golf at its finest and if you can sneak out and be a part of it, you will agree. These kids are destined for NCAA Division I golf.

So grab something to eat at Don’s Restaurant or the clubhouse where the onion rings rock, then brace yourself to literally be wowed by two of the best golfers in Washington state.

And next time your golfing partners rib you, saying “You swing like a girl.” You should only be so lucky.

Rodney Harwood is a sports writer for the Columbia Basin Herald and can be reached at rharwood@columbiabainherald.com