McCann Grabs County Title For 2nd Staight Year

By B.J. PITZEN

LEDGER CORRESPONDENT

LAKE WALES | Bartow sophomore Markie McCann's birdie putt on the final hole slid slightly to the right, missing the hole, but her tap-in for par still was good enough to win the Polk County Girls Golf Invitational by two strokes Wednesday at the Lekarica Golf Course.

 

In the team competition, the Yellow Jackets finished first in the team race with a season's best 171 and a 16-shot victory over the host Frostproof. George Jenkins trailed in third place with a 193.

 

McCann's victory gave her the individual title for the second consecutive year.

 

"I need to work on my short game," McCann said after shooting 40 as she strolled off the ninth green.

 

McCann's drive on the first hole ended up by the green in the fringe, but she failed to get up and down for birdie having to settle for par out of the gates.

 

The Yellow Jacket phenom drove into the left-fairway bunker on the second hole and advanced the ball 15 yards out of the fairway trap, ultimately leading to a bogey.

 

McCann, a 2010 FHSAA state qualifier, hit wedge on the 109-yard third hole, which proved to be effective as it led to a par. After a low, pulled drive that ricocheted off an evergreen tree into a clearing left of the grouping of trees on the par-5, 405-yard dogleg left, McCann went on to lay up in the left rough, avoiding more tree trouble. McCann's mid-iron shot from 137 yards ended up in the front middle of the green to a back-left pin location. She left her first putt well short but sank the 6-footer for par.

 

McCann had a double bogey on the fifth hole then bogeyed No. 6.

 

McCann came back with a birdie on No. 7 when her drive on the 129-yard par 3 left her a 6-foot putt for birdie. She followed up with a par on No. 8.

McCann hit five-iron into the par-5, 429 yard dogleg left ninth-hole and hit a medium height draw that caught the 25 mile-per-hour wind that carried the ball left of the green as the white sphere ended up pin high. McCann failed to get up and down for birdie from the dirt cart path as her 16 foot left to right putt slid slightly to the right missing the hole. However, her tap in par putt was good enough two win by two strokes.

 

Jim Suttie, teaching professional at Twin Eagles Golf and Country Club in Naples, along with Bartow Golf Course employee Chris Banks have helped McCann revamp her swing.

 

"My mental game was good today," McCann said. "I need to work on my chipping and short game, but the new swing was really good."

 

Frostproof eighth-grader Maddie Aldrich shot 42 and ended up in second place. Aldrich's round was highlighted by her nine-iron strike on the third hole that finished 15 feet short-left of the middle pin.

 

Her drive on the uphill ninth hole sailed 215 yards into a head wind and ended up 159 yards from the elevated green to a middle-pin flag location. Aldrich's 20 degree hybrid did not reach the green and she ultimately ended up with an untimely bogey.

 

"I hope to get a golf scholarship," said Aldrich, who finished fourth last year in the district tournament at River Greens. "I love Georgia, the Georgia Bulldogs."

 

Tenoroc's Kayla Connors played sub-par to her previously posted 39.2 nine-hole scoring average, but still managed a tie for third place in the gusty conditions with a 43.

 

All Saints' Lauren Thielen shot 43 highlighted by a seven-iron from 109 yards on the No. 3 tee that ended up 20 feet to the right of the hole.

 

Bartow's Jackie Caron posted a personal tournament-best 43 after making pars on the first and fourth holes, respectively.

 

The Yellow Jackets' Nicole Radivlov and Cathrine Pfeiffer each shot 44 while Rachel Imig posted a 46 to aid their team in the win. Pfeiffer made 10-foot birdie putts on both of the par fives. Frostproof's Amber Riedel shot 46, Hannah Terrebonne scored a 49 and Lissi Raines had 50 strokes.

 

McKeel Academy's long-hitting Shelby Hart finished alone in eighth place with a 45 highlighted by a 239-yard drive on the fifth hole.

 

"Coach (Dennis) Brown has helped me with my mental game a lot," Hart said. "My attitude has gotten so much better. He has helped me look at things differently and taught me to make it into a better situation than it really is mentally."

 

One thing the Polk County Invitational provided this year was a wake-up call for McCann and some of her closest competitors on the path to the District Tournaments at Sun ‘n Lake in Sebring and River Greens in Avon Park on Monday, October 17.