Lambert girls win state tournament again; Lady Packers fourth

Published 5:59 pm Tuesday, May 18, 2021

MOULTRIE – Shannon Hall took her Colquitt County girls golf team into the GHSA state golf tournament at Sunset Country Club hoping for a top-five finish.

She got her wish when the Lady Packers shot a second-round 263 on Tuesday to finish fourth in the 12-team field.

As expected, Lambert ran away with its seventh state championship in nine years, shooting back-to-back 221s to finish with a 442.

The Lady Longhorns won by 42 strokes.

Peachtree Ridge was second after it, too, duplicated its first-round score on Tuesday for a 242-242 for a 484.

Walton claimed third place with a 247 on Tuesday to go with its 270 shot Monday for a 517.

Colquitt finished 11 shots back of Lady Raiders at 528.

Junior Sadie Norman led the Lady Packers with rounds of 81 and 78 for a 159.

Chloe Howell, a senior, played her final tournament as a Lady Packer and shot rounds of 82 and 81.

Ann Elyse Clements turned in a two-day score of 207. Tayler Brown had a 208.

“The girls worked so hard both days,” Hall said. “They persevered and kept their emotions in check.

“They were very level-headed.”

Tuesday was windier than Monday and the greens and fairways were faster.

Lambert’s Averi Cline won her second-straight state tournament low-medalist title with her 73-72 for a 145.

She also was low medalist in 2019 when she turned in a 147.

Tuesday marked the third straight time that Lambert has shot a round of 221 in state tournament play.

There was no state tournament last year because of COVID-19.

But when Lambert won the title in 2019, the Lady Longhorns shot a first-day 231, followed by a 221, good for 452 and a 17-shot win over Mill Creek.

The rest of the field on Tuesday included Alpharetta, fifth, 531; South Forsyth, sixth, 550; Lowndes, seventh, 554; Mill Creek, eighth, 565; Etowah, ninth, 568; Harrison, tied for 10th, 569; North Paulding, tied for 10th, 569; North Gwinnett, 12th, 571.