Girls Golf Roundup: Durant’s Youngblood becomes third golfer in Oklahoma history to win four state titles

By Scott Wright 

KINGSTON – As her putt from the back fringe of the 18th green rolled to a stop within tap-in range, Durant senior Sydney Youngblood looked at her coach, let out a deep breath of relief and cracked a smile.

History was secure.

Youngblood’s short par putt finished off her fourth consecutive Class 5A state championship Thursday afternoon at Chickasaw Pointe Golf Club, becoming just the third golfer in state history to win four individual titles. The other two were Megan Blonien of Altus and Lacey Jones of Idabel.

But the historic run didn’t stop there.

Durant shot a two-day total of 687 to win its first golf state championship, and first girls state championship in any sport in school history.

Read the full story at Newsok.com here.

Fort Gibson wins 4A crown at Lake Hefner
Fort Gibson claimed its first-ever girls golf state championship Thursday on Lake Hefner’s South course, beating three-time defending state champ Hilldale by 14 strokes.

Senior and individual state runner-up Emilee Rigsby led the Tigers with a two-round score of 148, and Fort Gibson also placed juniors Shelby Phillips (157) and Abby Psomas (169) in the top-10.

As a team, Fort Gibson matched Wednesday’s first-round performance – a 325 team score – in the second round Thursday.

Hilldale improved by 32 strokes as a team from the first to the second round and actually beat Fort Gibson by nine strokes in the second round alone, but Thursday’s performance wasn’t enough to make up the ground needed to win a fourth straight championship.

Senior Kennedi Puckett led Hilldale with a two-round score of 164, while senior Katie Kirkhart -last year’s individual state champion – finished with a 165 score. The Hilldale teammates finished in sixth and seventh place, respectively, in the final individual standings.

PHILLIPS RECORDS HOLE-IN-ONE

Phillips helping Fort Gibson to the team championship and finishing in fourth place individually weren’t the only highlights for her.

The junior recorded her first-ever hole-in-one Thursday on the 131-yard 17th.

Read the full story at newsok here.

Scarberry stands out for Purcell

Purcell’s ShaeBug Scarberry stood out at the Class 3A state tournament at Cherokee Springs in Tahlequah.

The sophomore stood out for much more than just her game, though.

The individual state champion wore long, colorful socks for her two rounds – just as she did in 2015 when she won the state title.

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Her right sock featured a dragon – Purcell’s mascot. Her left was tie-dyed.

Scarberry has a large collection of wild socks, starting her collection a few years ago while playing on the Oklahoma Junior Golf Tour.

“At Red River one year, Morri Rose asked the girls to be creative and wear long socks with bright colors,” Scarberry said. “We wore pink and green that year. Ever since then, I’ve been wearing them.”

YOUTH SHINES FOR PLAINVIEW
Plainview couldn’t close the gap on first-place Purcell, finishing 32 strokes behind the state champion Dragons.

But the Indians are in strong position for the future, with a lineup that includes a junior, two sophomores and two freshmen.

One of those freshman, Addie Norton, finished second to Scarberry.

Norton, who led after the first day, came in two strokes behind Scarberry. She bogeyed her final two holes to finish at 147.

Sophomore Katie Finley also finished in the top 10.

Read the full story here.

Shy Holden wins Class 2A title for Fletcher

Sierra Holden of Fletcher didn’t want anyone to watch her play during the Class 2A girls’ golf state tournament.

She instructed her coach and family to follow and watch her little sister, Delana, on the Aqua Canyon Course.

“I just wanted to play for me and not get stressed out about what everybody else thought,” she said.

Her strategy paid off as Holden posted a two-day score of 148 on Thursday to win the Class 2A girls state golf championship by three strokes over Rejoice Christian’s Taylor Towers.

Holden shot an impressive even par 71 on Wednesday, the lowest round of the tourney.

She had a six-stroke lead over Towers coming into Thursday’s final round and waited anxiously for about an hour in the clubhouse for Towers to finish.

She literally kept her fingers crossed and nervously chewed bubble gum, waiting to find out if her lead would hold.

“It was agonizing,” she said. Read the rest of the story here.