By Shelley Ebbrecht (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The Catholic Lady Irish golf team took home the trophy and set a new MSHSAA team record in their performance at the MSU Girls Golf Relays on Thursday.
The previous record for strokes on a Par 71 course was 319 held by both Pembrooke Hill and Notre Dame of Cape Girardeau. The Lady Irish bested that score by six shots at the Bill and Payne Stewart Golf Course in Springfield.
“In golf, you never know what’s going to happen, but breaking this record today is going to give us a lot of confidence headed into conference and hopefully ctate,” said Catholic team member Reagan Zibilski.
Zibilski, Kayla Pfitzner, Kyleigh Pfitzner, Ellen Moore and Brooke Newhouse are undefeated as a team this season and nearly set a record earlier in the week during their round at Horton Smith.
“We’re on a good roll this week because we shot a 314 at Horton Smith a few days ago,” said Catholic coach Frank Gallant. “Today, on a par 71, they stepped up and played exceptionally well with wind and and conditions and the course being in great shape.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE TOURNAMENT
Gallant said the team is having fun playing together and that is the most important thing.
“They’re starting to mesh and have fun and have fun playing and competing together, which is a good thing,” he said. “Things are going well right now. We cannot complain.”
The Lady Irish claimed the top three individual scores of the day, with two earning top five scores in the MSHSAA record book. With her first-place score of 71, Kayla Pfitzner is now tied for fourth best score on a par 71 course. Zibilski finished one stroke behind Pfitzner with a 72 and is now tied for fifth in the record book. Kyleigh Pfitzner rounded out the top three with a 76.
“My goal was basically to relax,” said Kayla Pfitzner. “I had a feeling everyone was going to play good today so I just needed to play my game and be aggressive.”
Pfitzner had three birdies in the round to help her record score and said her putter was on point.
“I hit some really good shots to give me a pretty good chance for birdie and I made a lot of putts today,” she said. “I think I had the best putting game I’ve ever had.”
With conference play next week, Kyleigh Pfitzner said the team’s confidence is right where it needs to be.
“I’m going to try not to push anything because I know my team is going to do well, because we’re all shooting really well right now,” she said. “Just keep it simple and play with confidence.”
Glendale took home second place with a team score of 344. The Lady Falcons’ Wriley Hiebert shot a 78 for fourth place on the day.
Kevin Kane, the Missouri State women’s golf coach and director of the tournament, said he has been in charge of the event for 17 of its nearly 50 years and this year’s tournament has been as good as any.
“Catholic is as good a team as we’ve had here over the years,” Kane said. “And the course is in the best shape, so hats off to all those folks. It’s been hot and humid this week, so that’s been a struggle for some and while the wind didn’t help the golf scores any, it at least provided a little relief from the heat.”
FINAL TEAM SCORES
1. Catholic 313
2. Glendale 344
3. Ozark 347
4. Rolla 367
5. Glendale JV 381
6. Kickapoo 396
7. West Plains 398
8. Willard 399
9. Greenwood 412
10. Kickapoo JV 419
11. Camdenton 433
12. Parkview 465
TOP INDIVIDUAL SCORES
1. Kayla Pfitzner, Catholic 71
2. Reagan Zibilski, Catholic 72
3. Kyleigh Pfitzner, Catholic 76
4. Wriley Hiebert, Glendale 78
5. Kourtney Tucker, Central 80
6. Elizabeth Freeman, Ozark 81
TEAM-BY-TEAM SCORES
CATHOLIC 313
Kayla Pfitzner 71
Reagan Zibilski 72
Kyleigh Pfitzner 76
Ellen Moore 94
Brooke Newhouse 109
GLENDALE 344
Wriley Heibert 78
Susannah Blackwell 85
Halle Jungmann 87
Megan Roseman 94
Brooke Ramsey 103
OZARK 347
Elizabeth Freeman 81
Maddie Greenlee 87
Maddie Jenkins 89
Olivia Hanks 90
Georgia Fraser 96
ROLLA 367
Audrey Collier 85
Marliere Toothaker 86
Emma Hobbs 97
Hannah Hilker 99
Abby Hobbs 102
GLENDALE JV 381
Olivia Baron 85
McKenna Baron 96
Mattie James 97
Zoe Linn 103
KICKAPOO 396
Katy Finke 92
Lilli Baldner 95
Kaitlyn Pile 102
Kayla Morris 107
Elizabeth Finke 109
WEST PLAINS 398
Taylor Rogers 90
Abby Lipford 95
Addisyn Becker 104
Chloe Howell 109
Lakelen Murphy 118
WILLARD 399
Kamryn Amstutz 89
Megan Mahan 102
Haylee Bogner 102
Raelyn Schapeler 106
GREENWOOD 412
Liz Coulter 88
Averi Kessler 100
Ellise Dlabach 111
Alexandra Rosen 113
Reagan Rosen 113
KICKAPOO JV 419
Riley Vines 98
Hannah Pinegar 99
Emma Prost 109
Alyssa Haenig 113
Olivia Doran-Pellham 114
CAMDENTON 433
Ali Crowell 103
Grace Poe 108
Corinne Lembke 109
Anna-Grace Glor 113
Ainsley Lowther 117
PARKVIEW 465
Emma Hampton 101
Aubri Rea 112
Aisha Ramadhan 116
Aleayah Durham 136
INDIVIDUALS
Kourtney Tucker, Central 80
Cate Schnoebelen, Catholic 111
Brielle Amick, Waynesville 119
Macy Easterly, Central 127
