Moore takes medalist with 43, leads Lady to 3-way win at Honeywell

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Molly Moore

WABASH — The Rochester girls golf team succeeded in their first of two Three Rivers Conference tournament previews as they won a three-way match against Northwestern and Wabash over the front nine at Honeywell Golf Course Wednesday.

Rochester won with a 206, Northwestern had a 222, and Wabash had a 225.

Rochester junior Molly Moore overcame a triple bogey on the par-3 third hole and finished with a birdie on No. 9 to shoot a 43 and claim medalist honors.

Lexi Haughs added a 47, Lily Chipps had a 53, Makenna Jackson had a 63, and Kenlee Smith added a 65.

JV player Zoey Blakesley also shot a 65.

Rochester was scheduled to return to Honeywell to play Peru and Northfield in another nine-hole match Thursday. Both Wabash and Northfield play their home matches at Honeywell.

They will play an 18-hole round there at the TRC tournament on Sept. 12.

“It’s nice to be able to get here and play since this is where we’re going to be playing conference,” Rochester coach Dan Bailey said. “Even if we have to play the front nine again, some of the girls haven’t been here very much and probably don’t remember it, so any time we can spend out here is good preparation.”

The round included a 30-minute lightning delay, and the last JV player barely beat the sunset at approximately 8:40 p.m.

“I don’t think there was a lot of course change,” Bailey said. “I think the most difficult thing was trying to get back in the mental mode of playing golf. Once you get started and then you’ve got a half-hour, 40-minute delay, it’s hard to get it back going again in just a couple of holes.”

The round continued a hot streak for Moore. She shot a 42 two days earlier in a four-way match against Manchester, North Miami and Southwood. Two days before that, she shot a 75 to take medalist at the 18-hole Ulen Invitational at the Ulen Country Club in Lebanon.

“I hope that it kind of springboards her,” Bailey said. “Once you get to a certain level of golf competency, the next thing is you’ve got to believe in yourself. You’ve got to believe you can do it. That’s a huge thing. Rochester’s had really good players in the past, and all of them eventually clicked the switch where they really believed, and they started to expect things like that from themselves, and I hope that is what happens with Molly too. I hope she realizes she can play in a good field, and she can compete with some of the best players in the state.”

While Moore was the medalist, the most noteworthy score might have been Chipps’. Her 53 was a personal best for nine holes.

“My driver and my 7-iron,” Chipps said when asked what parts of her game were working. “They were going straight and far.”

Chipps was asked about playing on the conference course. She said the front nine at Honeywell has fewer bunkers and water hazards than the back nine.

“I really, really hope that I do well,” Chipps said. “But I’m pretty sure we’re going to be playing the back tomorrow, so it’ll be a different kind of view.”

Senior and No. 4 player Audrey Widman did not play. Bailey said Widman was dealing with “some physical stuff,” adding that it is both an injury and an illness.

at Honeywell Golf Course, Wabash, Aug. 26 (front nine, par 36)

ROCHESTER (206): Molly Moore 43, Lexi Haughs 47, Lily Chipps 53, Makenna Jackson 63, (Kenlee Smith 65)

NORTHWESTERN (222): Brynlee Lawson 50, Anna Cobble 51, Jocelynne White 56, Keely Taylor 65, (Lauren Kelly 67)

WABASH (225): Kaitlyn Brewer 47, Lilith Brookshire 56, Zoey Burns 61, Camille Coffman 61, (Alexis Indrutz 69)

ROCHESTER JV: Zoey Blakesley 65