SPANAWAY — Sequim’s Alex McMenamin and Port Angeles’ Dana Fox battled through tough course conditions to advance to today’s second round of the Class 2A state golf tournament at The Classic Golf Club in Spanaway.
McMenamin, the Olympic League girls golf MVP, overcame a triple bogey on the first hole and a quadruple bogey on the 16th hole to shoot an 11-over-par 85 Tuesday, good for fourth place.
Fife’s Kendall Gray was on point, shooting the only round in the 70s, a 79 to lead the 80-player event.
Fox, who has participated in the state tournament all four years in high school, shot a personal state-best round of 92, good for 11th place.
The top 40 advance to today’s second round.
“Collectively, these are the highest scores I’ve ever seen at state as a coach,” said eighth-year Wolves coach Garrett Smithson.
Port Angeles’ first-year coach Jacob Lippold had some reasons for the higher-than-average scoring.
“One of the biggest things is the way the course is cut. The rough is much higher than any other course we’ll play on in the Olympic League,” Lippold said.
“There are lots of areas in play on the course that are just not mowed down, and there are some very skinny, narrow greens.”
McMenamin found trouble on the first hole after her drive found some long grass off the tee.
Her second shot hit a tree and bounced into a water hazard.
“She was very nervous on the first tee,” Smithson said.
“I didn’t think she’d have those butterflies but she did.”
McMenamin shrugged off the seven to play even-par through the next 12 holes, with one birdie and one bogey.
“It was phenomenal, she really bounced back and was playing great,” Smithson said.
She had some trouble with holes 14 and 15, recording bogeys after three-putting each green.
McMenamin then hit the biggest bump in her round, a quadruple bogey on the par-4 16th hole.
“Alex hit a great drive that bounced over a hill into a blind area [from the teebox] and kicked left into a tall and thick strand of grass,” Smithson said.
McMenamin had a buried lie and was unable to advance the ball in two attempts.
“At state the coaches can’t talk to players so I couldn’t give her advice on her lie,” Smithson said.
“She decided to take the unplayable lie penalty and was able to get through it.”
McMenamin finished with bogeys on the final two holes.
“For her to battle through those tough holes and tough breaks, she did awesome and I’m really proud of her,” Smithson said.
Fox also tripled the par-4 first hole, a hole that gave her fits last year, when she recorded 12s on each day of the tournament.
“She hit a great drive but then found the bunker and had to work through it,” Lippold said.
Fox avoided trouble on the next hole, getting up and down from another bunker after draining a 15-footer for par.
“She hit her tee shots well all day; just a matter of getting used to getting near the greens and chipping and putting on them,” Lippold said.
“The biggest thing for her was short putts weren’t dropping in and she caught a lot of edges on her putts.
“But she stayed even-keeled and kept herself composed and will have another shot on day two.”
