Peters shoots 79 on a blustery day to lead Ephrata girls golf past Cascade
Rodney Harwood/Columbia Basin HeraldEphrata senior Kenedee Peters follows her putt on the 14th hole at Lakeview Golf & Country Club on Thursday.
Rodney Harwood/Columbia Basin HeraldEphrata senior Kenedee Peters follows her approach shot into the 14th green on Thursday at the Lakeview Golf & Country Club.
SOAP LAKE — Two-time 2A state medalist Kenedee Peters of Ephrata stood on the fringe of the par-5, 450-yard, 18th green at Lakeview Golf and Country Club Thursday as the twilight faded into the sunset.
She looked over the 20-foot putt straight up the hill, stepped over the ball and promptly drained it to cap a 8-over-par round of 79 on a course where she shot a course record 2-under-par 69 at the district tournament last May.
She’s coming off another course record-setting performance last week where she carded 6-under-par 64 to win the 1A/2A division at the Wenatchee Invite en route to a Highlander Golf Course standard.
Thursday afternoon was one of those hunker down and ride out the Washington state spring weather on a day where 45 degrees felt more like 35. But it’s the home course and she posted the low round to lead the Tigers to a non-league victory over Cascade.
Peters did not lose a single event entered in 2017, including the 2A state tournament at Indian Canyon in Spokane. She’s off to a good start in her final high school season before she joins the Washington State University team next fall. The goal is to get better, she said.
“I just want to get better every day. Better all-around, better ball striking, better thinking, better,” said Peters, who shot 39-40-79 on Thursday. “My goal this season is to get my scoring average to 71. Basically like to get it to under par and hit 70 percent of fairways and greens and 31 putts around.”
The Tigers played solid golf as a collective whole. Emmie Dilling had a solid round, shooting 49-53-102 on a day the mental test was as challenging as the physical challenges. Chloe Mickelsen shot five strokes better on the back nine, coming in at 55-50-105. Payton Hagy also had a better second nine, carding 55-53-108. Isabel Buchert (111) and Stacia Laughlin (124) rounded out the Ephrata lineup.
As for Peters’ game, this is the second season with her new driver and the less lofted club has helped with her accuracy and length off the tee. She’s been steady with her iron play, but it’s the short game that will take her to lower scores and better performances.
“I was really good off the tee today,” she said. “There wasn’t a lot of time to warm-up, which helps. My short game is solid and that’s my motivation, then the swing will come with that. But it’s the short game that makes all the difference.”
The Tigers play next at the Joe Lenburg Golf Invite March 29.