FAYETTEVILLE -- Mackenzie Lee is the runaway leader after the first round of the Class 6A girls state tournament, but you wouldn't know it by her reaction after shooting a 72.
Lee's 72 was seven strokes better than Lauren Loeb of Mount St. Mary, who finished second with a 79.
"I played pretty bad," said Lee, who won the 6A state championship last year as a freshman. "My driver was going really straight and far but my short game really messed me up. I have to improve on my short game."
The tournament continues today with second round action when the field is cut in half at the Fayetteville Country Club. The top eight teams and eight individuals with the lowest scorers will tee off at 8:30 a.m.
Fayetteville used its home-course advantage to shoot a 266 and win the 6A-West Conference title by one stroke over Bentonville, the defending state champions in Class 6A which placed second with a 267. Bentonville won followed by Springdale Har-Ber (272), Rogers (349), Bentonville West (359), and Rogers Heritage 377. "Being on your home course is absolutely an advantage," Fayetteville coach Scott Williams said. "I think we've been in a steady progression of improvement and the work they've done has kind of built up to this moment. We played very well and the scary thing is we can play better (Wednesday).
Sophomore Grace Kilcrease of Springdale Har-Ber shot an 81 to win individual honors in the 6A-West.
"I'm very surprise," Kilcrease said. "I didn't play my best but I made some clutch puts to win. But when I looked at the scores, I was happy to see I came in first."
Cabot shot a 278 to win the 6A-Central Conference championship over Mount St. Mary, which shot 289. Mount St. Mary was followed by North Little Rock (305), Bryant (316), Conway (326), Little Rock Central (340), Fort Smith Southside (389) and Fort Smith Northside (410).
Springdale High does not field a full team in girls golf. But Springdale coach Roger Voss was excited for Claire McElroy when she made the cut after shooting a 117. Bianca Lane, the second girl on the Har-Ber team shot 128.
"Claire has worked real hard," Voss said. She's done what it takes to get her score down to come back a second day. She met her goal."
Class 6A girls state golf
at Fayetteville Country Club
Team scores
6A-West
TEAM^SCORE
Fayetteville^266
Bentonville^267
Springdale Har-Ber^272
Rogers^349
Bentonville West^359
Rogers Heritage^377
6A-Central
Cabot^278
Mount St. Mary^289
North Little Rock^305
Bryant^316
Conway^326
Little Rock Central^340
Fort Smith Southside^389
Fort Smith Northside^410
Top scores
NAME^SCHOOL^SCORE
Lee^North Little Rock^72
Loeb^Mount St. Mary^79
Kilcrease^Springdale Har-Ber^81
Waters^Rogers Heritage^85
Ott^Springdale Har-Ber^85
Chandez^Mount St. Mary^86
Miller^Bentonville^87
Rechin^Fayetteville^87
Doyle^Cabot^87
LaCerria^Bryant^87
Atchley^Fayetteville^88
Milligan^90
Ziegler^Fayetteville^91
Pleiman^Bentonville^90
Ziegler^91
Heslep^Cabot^94
Gentle^94
Hedlin^Cabot^96
Tillman^Bentonville^98
Billington^Bentonville^96
Harmon^LR Central^100
Wilson^Fayetteville^100
Steiner^Conway^102
Waller^Bryant^105
Moore^Har-Ber^106
Allensworth^Rogers^106
Boren^Bentonville West^107
Hudson^North Little Rock^108
Baker^LR Central^108
Leach^Conway^111
Bowden^Har-Ber^112
Holland^Conway^113
Myers^Bentonville West^113
Jones^Rogers^114
Alsup^Cabot^115
McElroy^Springdale^117
Batson^Conway^118
Lambert^Conway^119
Cole^Northside^120
Moore^Bryant^124
Weavers^Mount St. Mary^124
Seda^North Little Rock^125
Bing^Cabot^126
Crawley^Bryant^128
Lane^Springdale^128
Preps Sports on 10/02/2019