Southridge’s Hui finishes 3rd, Kamiakin’s Clark takes 6th at state golf

High winds kept low numbers out of the mix Wednesday at Canyon Lakes Golf Course, which effectively cut down most of the drama at the end of the final round of the Class 3A girls golf state tournament.

Southridge’s Samantha Hui shot a 6-over 78 for a two-day total of 152 (+8), and Kamiakin’s Alexa Clark also carded a 78 to finish sixth at 11 over, which led the Braves to a sixth-place team finish.

Central Kitsap sophomore Brittany Kwon righted the ship after a rough front nine to shoot 77 and defend her Class 3A title, finishing 1 under for the tournament.

Hui started the day in third after an opening round 74, and had to fight to keep her lead over fourth-place Emma Johnson (Bethel) and fifth-place Abby Euyang (Lakeside (Seattle)).

Johnson made par on the par-4 18th to finish 9 over for the tourney, and Euyang took a double-bogey after losing her drive to finish at 10 over. Hui was 6 over standing on the final tee box, but sliced her drive out of bounds. She hit her eventual approach shot just short of the green, but made up-and-down for a double bogey to stay in the top three by a stroke.

“My coach (Spencer Reiboldt) had told me that the girl who was tied with me had gone OB, so I thought all I had to do was make a par to keep third,” Hui said. “And then I went OB. So that was kind of sketchy. But it turned out OK.”

The Southridge junior’s best stretch of the day started on the par-5 ninth hole, where she hit a hybrid from 190 yards out on her second shot that landed on top of the wall bordering the green-side water hazard, bounced, and rolled to within 20 feet of the hole. She got down in two from there for a birdie, then nearly drove the green on the 248-yard 11th for another bird to move to 2 over on the day (+4 overall), and within two strokes of second-place Adithi Anand (Redmond).

Hui, who went 4 over on the first eight holes of the day, said it was the positivity of her playing partners, Kwon and Anand, that allowed her to settle down in the middle of her round.

“I think it was more like the people I was playing with, they were really nice to talk to, so I felt really comfortable and I was kind of loose,” Hui said. “So swinging was really easy and things were falling.”

The four holes Hui played at 2 under just happened to be the windiest of the day, a factor that seemed to favor the Tri-City kids over the rest of the field.

“Nick (Mandell) was the starter for today, he was out here putting yesterday and I told him ‘I really want it to start blowing hard tomorrow,’ ” Hui said. “ ‘Because I feel like then I could catch up.’ So I got what I wished for.”

Added Clark: “I think all of us in Tri-Cities and around, we always want the wind because it’s a big advantage since it’s always windy here. I think we kind of look forward to it, and it doesn’t bother me.”

The Kamiakin senior had a bittersweet end to her stellar high school career. Clark nearly holed out on a chip for birdie on the 18th, but settled for par to finish a stroke behind Euyang.

She had finished third at the past two state tournaments.

“Not as great as I wanted to do, but still pretty happy with it,” Clark said. “I mean, I didn’t play my best and still ended up in sixth, so I’m pretty happy with it.”

Clark has signed to play at Eastern Washington University in the fall.

Kamiakin’s Ashley Fulmer was the only other local to make the cut, and shot 94 Wednesday to finish in a tie for 30th at 41 over.

HUI, CLARK HEAD TO SALEM

There will be little rest for the area’s top 3A girls, as Hui and Clark head to Salem, Ore., Thursday night to get ready for the North Pacific Jr. Ladies Team Matches at Illahee Hills Country Club.

The duo will compete for Team Washington, along with Kwon, Katelann Soth (Kentwood) and Kenedee Peters (Ephrata) — who won the 2A tournament. They qualified for the team by finishing in the top six of eligible players in the Washington Junior Golf Association last year.

The tournament consists of a best ball match Saturday and alternating stroke play Sunday.

“I think it’ll be fun because it’s just something different,” Clark said. “You don’t get to play match play all the time, but it’s fun and gets pretty competitive. We all have a good time.”

4A Boys (at Liberty Lake GC (Par 70)): Richland’s Carl Underwood, the reigning 4A champ, shot a 74 to fall back into a five-way tie for fifth at 5-over 145.

Walla Walla’s Alex Johanson carded a 75 on Tuesday, but finished with a final round 80 to tie for 36th at 15 over.

Bellarmine Prep’s Joe Highsmith matched his opening round 67 to win medalist honors and lead the Lions to a team title.

4A Girls (at Meadowwood GC (Par 72) in Liberty Lake): After shooting an opening-round 71 to begin Thursday a stroke out of the lead, Richland’s Macy Robertson shot 80 on Thursday to finish eighth at 7 over.

Breanna Watts fired an 85 to finish tied for 34th at 22 over, helping the Bombers take sixth in the team totals.

Walla Walla’s Brooke Cramer shot 81 for the second straight day and tied for 27th.

The Bellarmine girls added more hardware to their trophy case as they won their sixth consecutive team title, nearly doubling up second-place Camas by scoring 163.75 points.

3A Boys (at Columbia Point GC (Par 72): Bolton Dauenhauer shot a 75 and McGwire Hanson an 80, but the Kamiakin duo met in a tie for 12th at 5 over that helped lead the Braves to a third-place team finish.

Southridge’s Riley White carded a 77 to finish tied for 24th at 9 over.

2A Boys (at Creek at Qualchan GC (Par 72) in Spokane): Patrick Azevedo didn’t have the best round in the field Wednesday, but he didn’t need it. The Othello Husky shot a final-round 76 to finish at 5 over — two strokes ahead of Liberty’s (Issaquah) Chase McIntosh — to win the state title.

Azevedo started the day tied with McIntosh for the lead, and six other golfers were within three shots of their opening-round 73.

1B/2B Boys (at Horn Rapids GC (Par 72)): Tri-City Prep’s Teddy Moore finished up with an 88 to take 19th, posting a 31 over for the tournament.

This story was originally published May 24, 2017 at 8:47 PM with the headline "Southridge’s Hui finishes 3rd, Kamiakin’s Clark takes 6th at state golf."