NCHSAA WOMEN’S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS TO START ON MONDAY

CHAPEL HILL—Top golfers from across the state will compete next week in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s 29th women’s state golf championships.

For the seventh year in a row, the NCHSAA is offering classified championships because the number of schools competing in the sport has grown. The two-day events will be held on Monday and Tuesday, October 26-27, at two different sites. The 4-A championship is set for the West Course at Foxfire Golf and Country Club in Foxfire Village. The 1-A, 2-A and 3-A golfers will compete together at Longleaf Golf and Country Club in Southern Pines.

Players and teams qualified to the state championship from regionals across the state.

Last year Raleigh Athens Drive earned the state 4-A team title by four strokes over Greensboro Grimsley and Northwest Guilford, who tied for second. Allison Emrey of Charlotte Ardrey Kell won the individual crown, charging from fourth place on the opening day to shoot a 151 total and win the title by a single shot, and she has qualified to defend her title.

Cameron Union Pines captured its second consecutive 1-A/2-A/3-A team title in 2008, this time by a whopping 19 shots over runner-up Jamestown Ragsdale. Senior Courtney Gunter of Indian Trail Porter Ridge, with rounds of 76 and 70, easily won the individual championship by 10 shots last year and ended her high school career with three consecutive state titles.

The best three scores for a team, which may have up to five individuals, are counted each day toward the team total.

The championships include a field of 79 golfers competing in 4-A and 78 in 1-A/2-A/3-A, and the first group of players in both championships will tee off at nine o’clock each morning. Players will be paired differently and tee times adjusted for Tuesday’s round, based on Monday’s scores.

The NCHSAA women’s golf championships are presented by Wendy’s.