Hicks claims third overall girls title at DeBolt (PHOTO GALLERY)
FORT WALTON BEACH — As she prepared to putt for par on No. 18, Gulf Breeze rising senior Sarah Hicks tried to calm her raging nerves.
Having begun the final day of the 31st Annual Marvin DeBolt Daily News Junior Golf Classic two strokes in back of Day 1 leader Jaime Jordan, Hicks had managed to maneuver a wind-swept Pines course on Thursday at Fort Walton Beach Golf Club to arrive at the last hole nursing a one-stroke lead over Dolphins’ teammate Ashleigh Ryals.
All she needed was to sink one last putt.
“I was pretty nervous,” Hicks said. “I just told myself to get my speed right, you can tap it in and walk away with par.”
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Hicks walked away with more than that, capturing the girls 15-18 title with a second-day round of 4-under 68 to finish at 141 for the event. It marked Hicks’ third win in four years after settling for second place a year ago.
“It means a lot,” Hicks said. “I’m very fortunate to have played as well as I have in this tournament.”
Ryals, who like Hicks shot a 73 on Wednesday, carded a Day 2 round of 3-under 69 to finish one stroke back of Hicks, while Jordan finished third with a 148.
Jordan, who entered the day atop the leader board after firing a 71 on Wednesday, struggled from the outset on Thursday. After shooting a 39 on the front nine, Jordan knew she faced a steep climb.
“I knew I was going to have to come out and play well,” Jordan said. “It was fair game. I just couldn’t get it together.”
One day after walking away from a round that left her “extremely frustrated,” Hicks was able to settle into a groove on Thursday. Hicks birdied 11 before sinking a pair of birdies on the frontside to keep even with a white-hot Ryals. Then, on 16, it all threatened to come undone after a bogey.
“I thought, ‘Oh, no,’ ” Hicks said. “I thought, ‘You don’t want to go in a playoff, why would you do that? Get your head in the game.’
“I knew what I had to do, and I went out there and did it.”
Hicks responded with her fourth birdie on 17 to take a one-stroke lead as the group arrived at 18. Her ensuing par clinched the title.
Niceville’s Ivey Kelly finished fourth with a 152, while Eagles’ teammate Rebekah Pruett placed fifth at 155. One day after edging her sister by a stroke, Fort Walton Beach’s Rachel Struzinski fired an 80 in support of Wednesday’s 76 to finish tied for sixth with a two-day total of 156 with — who else? — Summer Struzinski.
“There’s always a rivalry with two sisters,” Rachel joked a day earlier. “We just want each other to do the best we can.”
