SEYMOUR – Kinleigh Root earned medalist honors as No.19 Bedford North Lawrence cruised to the team title in the Seymour Invitational during girls high school golf action at Shadowood on Tuesday.
The Stars carded a team score of 324 to win by 28 strokes over Madison in the eight-team field.
Root posted a 4-over 76 that featured five birdies, including three straight on holes 5-7 on the front nine. She started on the 16th hole (during the shotgun start) and was languishing at 5-over after five holes, then exploded to earn medalist honors for the first time in her high school career.
“It was rough,” Root said. “I had some swing problems so it took a little time to fix it. And it was my confidence. Once I got that, it was good. Coach kept tell me to play Kinleigh Root golf, that no one else knows how to play like me. That’s what I told myself before every shot.”
“Kinleigh showed a lot of grit today,” BNL coach Kori Johnston said. “She had a rough start but turned it around and got on a birdie train to finish it up.”
Ellie Horton was second in the medalist race with a round of 80 (highlighted by a birdie on the par-3 13th), and freshman Emma Endris was fourth overall with 82 (with three birdies on the back nine). Sammie Nusbaum and Emma Voris capped the scoring for the Stars with 88s.
“I’m really proud of the team,” Johnston said. “They just flat out got it done for us. The improvement in our mental games is truly night and day from last season. We recovered from bad shots or bad holes, stayed unfazed by the heat and slow play, and remained mentally focused the entire round.
“Sammie also played much better today but had two bad holes jump her score a little. However, her ability to recover and let bad holes go was impressive. Overall I’m very satisfied with our team score. They’re an impressive bunch and I’m ready to see what else this team can do.”
BNL’s second unit finished tied for fourth with 425 as Kaedyn Canada posted 98.
“This was their first time ever playing in an 18-hole invitational tournament,” Johnston said. “They were definitely nervous before we started, but brought home a top-five finish.”
BNL will compete in the State Preview at Prairie View on Saturday.
SEYMOUR INVITATIONAL
Team scores
BNL 326, New Albany 354, Madison 401, Seymour 425, BNL Red 425, Brownstown 430, Scottsburg 448, Columbus East 452
BNL scores – Kinleigh Root 76, Emma Endris 82, Ellie Horton 80, Sammie Nusbaum 88, Emma Voris 88
BNL Red – Jasmine Nguyen 104, Jaylee Huffman 111, Madi Crane 112, Claire Edwards 119, Kadynn Canada 98
