Abington Heights captured the team title at the Ann Marie Simons Classic on Tuesday at Tall Pines Players Club in Friendsville with a score of 239. (SCOTT WALSH / STAFF PHOTO)
Other winners at the Ann Marie Simons Classic on Tuesday at Tall Pines Players Club in Friendsville were, from left: Liz George of Abington Heights, low senior; Julia Biko from North Pocono, low junior; Elk Lake’s Hannah LaRue, low sophomore; and Molly Nietz of Abington Heights, low freshman. (SCOTT WALSH / STAFF PHOTO)
Show Caption
1 of 2
Abington Heights captured the team title at the Ann Marie Simons Classic on Tuesday at Tall Pines Players Club in Friendsville with a score of 239. (SCOTT WALSH / STAFF PHOTO)
FRIENDSVILLE — Abington Heights had a strong showing at the Ann Marie Simons Classic girls golf tournament Tuesday.
Senior Brianna Moffatt shot a 5-over-par 75 at Tall Pines Players Club to capture the individual title by one stroke over Honesdale junior Marley Reynolds. Teammates Margot Grad and Liz George each shot 82 with Grad taking third place on a match of cards.
Their efforts gave the Lady Comets the team title with a score of 239. Riverside was second with 267 and Elk Lake third with 272.
George wound up winning low-senior honors, while Molly Nietz of Abington Heights was low freshman with 101. North Pocono’s Julia Biko was low junior with an 86 and Hannah LaRue from Elk Lake was low sophomore with an 87.
“Coming in I felt confident they were going to do well,” Abington Heights coach Ed Bath said. “They’ve really progressed in their games, especially with the mental part of the game; their maturity with decision-making out on the golf course and playing the golf course as it’s presented to them. Just in what I could see out there, I saw some good decisions being made as golfers and executing those decisions. They all kind of shot right around their averages thus far this year, which again is indicative to that good, mental approach to golf. I think they did a great job.”
Moffatt started on hole No. 1 and shot 39 on the par-35 front nine. She bogeyed No. 2, then had to overcome a triple-bogey on the par-4 eighth hole.
“I started off a little rocky, pulling my drives,” Moffatt said. “I didn’t really warm up, so it didn’t really help. I needed to find my groove. After a couple holes, I found it. It was just relaxing through the course, no stressing.
“I did have to take a drop on No. 8, which was a little disappointing. I pulled it into the woods on the left, so I had to take a drop. I was hitting three and I put it next to the green, But I overthought it a little bit and a duffed my chip. So I had to take another chip and I ended up two-putting for the seven.
“It was one hole. I drew a fence across my card, like my coach told me, to block it and move on.”
On the back nine, it was a birdie on the par-4 11th hole that got Moffatt back on track.
“It was over the water. I hit my 5-wood,” Moffatt said. “It was a little short, but my chipping was pretty good today, especially reading the greens. They were definitely quicker than what we’ve seen in a while. So I chipped up and left it within about four feet. All I could think about was, ‘Hit the back of the cup,’ That’s all I needed to do and I did.
“That brought my spirits up. I was like, ‘OK, I have a chance here.’”
Starting on No. 6, Reynolds had bogeys on seven of her first 11 holes. She birdied the par-4 17th hole, made par on four of her next five holes before birdieing her final hole — the par-3 No. 5.
“I was playing pretty good. I was playing bogey golf the entire time, just hitting shots and playing my game,” Reynolds said. “I had a good few holes, good pars, stuff like that. I didn’t get in my head a lot, I was just smiling. The two birdies helped my momentum.
“My 18th hole, I almost got a hole-in-one, but I birdied it. I was about a foot away from a hole-in-one.”
Reynolds finished her round before Moffatt, so her 76 stood atop the leaderboard for quite some time. However, after Moffatt bogeyed the par-4 15th, she parred her final three holes.
“It was nerve-racking,” Reynolds said. “But my mindset was that she was going to come in and beat me. She was going to come in with the better score and I was going to get second.”
On No. 18, Moffatt drained about a 20-foot putt for par to secure the victory.
“My ultimate goal coming out here was to have a run at first,” she said. “I placed third my sophomore year, second my junior year and I finally came out and won it my senior year. It’s definitely a good way to leave the course.”
Two weeks ago, Moffatt won the Happy Valley Invitational on the Penn State White Course in State College, shooting a 77. Bath said adding a win in the Simons Classic is a testament to her discipline.
“Stay in each hole, stay in the shot, not get ahead of the game,” Bath said. “She was in her process, in her routine, which again I see as a real maturity this year. She’s playing her game, her routine, one shot at a time. That’s ideal for a golfer.
“I’m real so happy for her. I know she’s wanted to reach those goals for a couple years now.”
Team scores
Abington Heights 239: Moffatt 75, George 82, Grad 82, Arp 91, Nietz 101, DeMeglio 104; Riverside 267: Wincovitch 87, Monahan 90, Mills 90, Chilek 100, Bisignani 101; Elk Lake 272: LaRue 87, Sample 91, Keeney 94, Patton 100, Shalata 102; North Pocono 275: Biko 86, Clementoni 91, Gerlach 98, Foster 108, Jones 111, Whitelavich 116; Honesdale 277: Reynolds 76, Saylor 92, Flederbach 109, Johnson 114; Forest City 294: Franks 95, Walker 99, Lombardi 100, Sklanka 111, Tomazic 118; Lackawanna Trail 294: Antolick 96, Dewey 96, Kelly 102, Laytos 104, Davis 111, Choplosky 120; Old Forge 294: Fox 91, Notari 97, Rafalko 106, Solfanelli 111, O’Hearn 112; Valley View 295: E. Mackrell 87, A. Mackrell 101, Addley 106, Chilek 109, Lemoncelli 104, Howanitz 120; Mid Valley 316: Ricciardi 97, Gilgallon 102, Scanlon 107; Mountain View 321: Thatcher 102, Smith 108, Briechele 111, Kilmer 118; Scranton Prep 342: Boland 109, Zurcher 116, Sileo 117, Gilligan 118, Skorupa 121, Joyce 129; Dunmore 363: Burrell 108, Cady 127, Golosky 128.
Individuals
Lakeland: Phelps 110, Davis 114; Montrose: Kipar 93