Rosewood's Burton finishes 3rd in East 1A/2A girls' golf regional

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on October 21, 2014 1:48 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

Leann Domotrovits remembered last year's trip to Walnut Creek Country Club.

The Croatan senior and Rosewood's Lindsey Burton staged an epic four-hole playoff to determine the individual regional champion.

Domotrovits left little doubt this time.

Steady from the opening tee on No. 1 to the final putt on No. 18, Domotrovits repeated as the N.C. High School Athletic Association Classes 1-A/2-A eastern regional champion with a 79 at Walnut Creek Country Club on Monday afternoon. The senior helped Croatan capture its third consecutive team title with a three-player score of 260 -- 37 strokes lower than runner-up N.C. School of Science and Math.

South Granville placed third with a 302.

All three teams qualified for next week's state tournament in Pinehurst.

"I'm glad there wasn't a playoff," Domotrovits said. "It was set in stone (this time)."

Neuse Charter's McKenna Hammer (86) and Burton, who played in the same group with Domotrovits, finished second and third, respectively. Hammer and Burton qualified as individuals for the state tournament.

"It was good being in a group with them because they're my two biggest competitors," said Burton, who carded an 87. "I did OK (today). It wasn't the greatest (round), it wasn't the worst, either. I had good holes and then there were a few holes where (I) just messed up.

"It was kind of disappointing."

Burton wished she could replay No. 11.

Her tee shot landed in the water right of the fairway and took a drop from about 30-40 yards from the green. Burton struggled to finish out the hole and couldn't recover the rest of the round.

The untimely miscue gave Domotrovits a little more breathing room.

"I was trying to aim farther left (off of the tee), but I pushed it into the water. It went downhill after that," Burton said. "On the next hole, I had to calm down a little bit because I was so upset."

Breezy conditions, fast and rolling greens and difficult pin placements challenged the golfers all afternoon. Domotrovits and her playing partners constantly two- and three-putted on the back nine.

"This round, I felt like I was all over the place," Domotrovits said. "There was a streak where I had pars. I had the opportunity to save some pars and get a birdie so many times. It just never sunk (in the cup).

"To me, this course is a position course, not necessarily a scoring course."

Just six golfers shot 89 or lower on the tree-lined, picturesque layout. NCCSM's Katherine Wang ended up fourth individually with an 88. Croatan junior Savannah Vasquez and SouthWest Edgecombe senior Leah Hobgood shared fifth place with an 89.