Girls host EC golf tournament
By KRIS BAGLEY sports@leader-news.com

L-N Photo by Kris Bagley The Approach Samantha Benge surveys the green to plan her next putt in Monday's event.

The Lady 'Birds took to El Campo Country Club Monday as they hosted their annual golf tournament.

Head Coach James Harp said he was pleased with the number of golfers that showed up for the event and glad the sun was shining on the course.

"It's been a good day," Harp said as the tournament neared its end. "We're getting around the course and we've had a good turnout, 45 girls total. We have eight teams here represented with one no show. It's been a good tournament and I've seen some girls hit some good golf shots, so we're getting better."

Wet conditions and heavy wind plagued the course. Harp downplayed the blustery conditions and pointed to recent rain as more of a factor.

"The wind won't affect as much as the wet ground and it's really wet out here. That's going to make it tougher on the girls because you have to be that much more precise in hitting the golf ball. You get just a fraction of an inch behind the ball or in front of the ball and you're going to hit mud and girls don't have the strength to continue on and carry the swing out to get the yardage. That's where they're going to struggle today.

"When they're not hitting the ball pure, they're not going to get much

distance. The wind won't affect them as much simply because of ball flight. Girls, on the average, hit the ball 100 to 150 yards on the medium. Ball flight on the wind doesn't affect them as much as it would boys who play the longer shots."

Despite the harsh conditions, the Lady 'Birds put together a solid performance. El Campo finished fourth out of seven teams and Samantha Benge, Samantha Zabodyn and Kayla McCrary all placed among the top golfers.

The boys get their chance at a home-course advantage when they host the tournament in two weeks. Slated for March 10, the event should give a preview to the district tournament in April as Foster and Lamar Consolidated will participate.

"I look forward to that tournament," Harp said. "It's a tournament we should win. Honestly, we ought to fair well. Our competition in district is going to be Seven Lakes and their A and B team. We're going to be on the verge of second place.

"Foster still has some quality kids and we're going to have our hands full to compete with them, but it's going to be a three-team race for second. That's what we're going to shoot at."

The Ricebirds and Falcons will both bring their best teams to try and take the tournament title. The winner could take an advantage and major momentum into the district tournament.

"We'll have Foster here on March 10 and that will be a good sign to see where we stand," Harp said. "I give us the edge because we're going to be on our home course. We should play better and hopefully we will. Seven Lakes won't be here but other than that, we'll see kind of where we stand in district as far as who's going to compete for second place or who's going to get the medalists out."

The following is a list of El Campo's results from Monday's tournament.

Final Team Standings

1. Lamar Consolidated, 342; 2. Foster, 395; 3. Columbia, 423; 4. El Campo, 454; 5. Sweeny, 487; 6. Angleton, 491; 7. Bay City, 500.

El Campo Individuals

10. Samantha Benge, 104; 12. Samantha Zabodyn, 108; 14. Kayla McCrary, 111; 24. Courtney Capak, 124; 39. Paige Wallace, 131; 41. Paige Lange, 138; 43. Jamie Limmer, 139; 44. Anne Marie Novosad, 141.