Although she was displeased with her play Thursday at Boulder Pointe Golf Club in Oxford, Clarkston’s Minjoo Lee put together an impressive performance at the girls golf regional playoff.
Lee shot a round of 89, earning her a spot in the state finals June 1-2 at Forest Akers at Michigan State University in East Lansing. Lee earned the final individual qualifying spot, sending her to the finals for the second consecutive season. Clarkston qualified as a team in 2006, but did not this season.
‘There were some happy tears there,? Clarkston coach Larry Sherrill said.
Lee sat nervously with her coach as the scores were announced after play concluded, he said. Making the state cut was a goal of Lee’s this season. She and Sherrill will visit the course this week, he said, taking notes and trying to prepare Lee for the state meet.
‘It’s a difficult course. It will be a good division I state meet,? Sherrill said.
Lee, a short-game specialist who relies on her accuracy once off the tee, will need to shoot a round in the mid 70’s to place in the top 10.
At the regional, the Wolves (417) took seventh place in the 17-team field, which played through cold and often windy conditions on the course. Defending state champions Grand Blanc (350), as well as Lake Orion (353) and Traverse City West (361), ran away with the contest, qualifying for the state meet as the top three finishers.
Sherrill said the girls? performance at the second of two Oakland Activities Association meets in Brighton May 12 helped the Wolves peak at the right time heading into the regional playoff.
‘I was happy,? he said.
‘The conditions were horrible and it showed in the scores.
‘I was proud the way they never gave up. You never know in a match like that what your score is going to mean. They kept going and stayed strong.?
Ashley Blanc shot 112, Christine Seiple and Jessica Lazoen 108, and Jennifer Fuller carded 116 strokes for the Wolves.
Lake Orion’s Darby Peters was the top scorer with a round of 77 and teammate Britney Hamilton was third, shooting an 81.