A fight to the finish in girls golf

WEST LAFAYETTE — For 17 holes, John Glenn's Lexi Bubenchik and Maysville's Makyla Lewellen had a duel for the ages for what amounted to a spot in the Division II state tournament.

Bubenchik had just a one-shot lead entering the final hole as neither player gave ground on the Pines course in the district at River Greens. With only one individual qualifying spot available, someone was going to be abandoned when the train for Columbus left town.

Steady play secured Lewellen's place in the caboose.

The junior made a routine par on the final hole, taking advantage of a late Lewellen breakdown, to finish with a 4-over-par 76. She tied with Garaway's Ashleigh Rothatcher for medalist honors to seal her first state trip in three previous tries.

Bubenchik will now play Ohio State's Gray Course next Friday and Saturday.

"I thought she played very smart," said John Glenn coach Rich Bubenchik, Lexi Bubenchik's father. "She didn't make any putts, but she kept it in play and kept on the good side of the hole."

It was far from easy.

Lewellen was 1-over on the back nine with a pair of birdies entering No. 18 before two penalty shots took her out of contention. Before that, Lewellen matched Lexi Bubenchik almost shot-for-shot.

"She deserved to win with the way she played," Lewellen said. "She made some birdies and a lot of pars. She really kept me competitive throughout the round. I think if I would have played with someone else my score would have been different."

There was no argument from Lexi Bubenchik.

"We've played against each other a lot through the years, and I love playing with her," Lexi Bubenchik said. "It's great to face that kind of competition because it brings out the best in your game."

Lewellen pulled within a shot after stuffing a wedge on the par-5 17th, leading to an easy birdie. But she found trouble on the 18th as her tee shot rolled through the fairway and into the rough, and she then saw two shots find the water after Lewellen hit a close approach.

Lewellen admitted she pressed to hit a perfect shot after Lexi Bubenchik set herself up for an easy two-putt.

"I had a bad lie," Lewellen said. "I thought I could still get it out of there, but I probably should have taken out a different club."

It was still good enough for an 83 that finished tied for the fourth-best score in the tournament.

"Besides the last hole, I played the best I could," Lewellen said. "I really don't really have any regrets. I know I screwed up the last hole, but that's just one hole and I plan to fix that next year."

Lexi Bubenchik said her plan was to simply stay away from trouble, namely the glut of pine trees that line many of the fairways.

"I only hit five fairways, so I really just tried to keep it under control," she said.

Her round was part of John Glenn's season-best 18-hole effort of 399, which also included Mackenzie Garber's 103, Rachel Saltz's 104 and Kaelee Dingey's 116.

The Muskies were fifth — Garaway rolled to the team title behind three of the top five scores — but only three shots behind fourth-place Indian Valley (396) and 12 behind third-place Beaver Local (387). Surpassing its sectional score from last week was the goal for the team, which is due to return all four players next season.

"The team that shot 501 at sectionals last year shot 399 today," Rich Bubenchik said. "We beat our score at sectionals this year by 20 shots. ... Twenty shots in a week is phenomenal. I'm really proud of the way they hung in there."

sblackburn@zanesvilletimesrecorder.com

740-450-6723

Twitter: @SamBlackburnTR