PREP GOLF: Har-Ber maintains control of Lady Wildcat Classic

SPRINGDALE -- Charlie Whorton shot a 72 to lead Springdale Har-Ber to its third consecutive Lady Wildcat Classic title on Monday afternoon at Springdale Country Club.

The defending Class 6A state champion Lady Wildcats posted a team total of 235 to lead the way, while Bentonville and Russellville rounded out the top three with scores of 292 and 306 respectively in the first tournament of the prep golf season.

Whorton shot 36 on both the front and back nines to score for an even-par.

"I hit some good shots onto the green and a couple good drives set me up for those," Whorton said of her performance. "You're always going to leave some out there on the course, but I'm pretty happy with how I played today."

Lauren Milligan, also of Har-Ber, recorded the second-best individual performance shooting a 78. Bentonville's Blakelee Sitton placed third with an 82.

Lady Wildcats coach Tim Aynes applauded his team for performing well from top-to-bottom.

"I thought we played very well," Aynes said. "Charlie shooting even-par is always a great score, but then we had a 78 and 85 thrown in there, which are three really good scores. My other girls also came in with good scores, so I'm pleased overall with the way everyone played."

Har-Ber's win came without University of Tulsa commit Grace Kilcrease, who was out of town competing in another tournament.

"I think it's a confidence-builder," Aynes said of winning without Kilcrease. "I would've really loved to have her here playing obviously, but it makes other people have to step up and play a role that maybe they aren't used to.

"It puts a little pressure on, which I think is what makes us get better, being able to come through and perform in those situations."

Aynes pointed to playing on its home course benefited Har-Bar.

"It's definitely an advantage in golf more than any other sport," Aynes said. "You know what clubs you need in different places, how the green is going to break, you know where to miss, and where not to hit it. We like to take advantage of it with the one home tournament we get to have, considering we'll have 11 more that aren't our home course."

Whorton said that being acquainted with the course helps her know how to approach certain holes.

"It definitely helps with just know where to go," she said. "There's a couple of holes where you need to go to the right or left of the fairway instead of the middle just to have a better angle. Knowing the speed of the greens also helps a lot playing with that familiarity."