Grace Heady walked to her ball in the middle of the fairway with confidence, knowing exactly what shot she was about to hit.
It was nearly identical to the one the Lady Panther had hit minutes early on the 18th hole of the Owensboro Country Club, only this time it was in a playoff for the individual medalist of the city-county golf match.
From 150 yards out, Heady pulled out her 6-iron and stuck the ball within a few feet of the hole, and she walked to the the green with a smile, knowing she had a good chance for the win. Apollo’s Briley Carter also hit the green from the fairway, but her ball stopped several yards above the hole.
Carter wasn’t able to make the putt, so Heady dropped hers in for the victory. Both golfers finished with a 79 through 18 holes.
“It’s pretty amazing,” Heady said. “I’ve been working hard all season to try to accomplish this. It’s a big accomplishment for me and my team. I’ve been very patient.”
Heady led Daviess County to a team win with a total score of 355. Owensboro Catholic came in second with a 383, barely edging out Apollo’s 387.
Lady Panther head coach Rachel Lindow was glad her team played well after some struggles in recent weeks. The success has been a long time coming, she said.
“City-county is a huge win for us,” Lindow said. “It motivates us that much more for regionals. Daviess County has been patient over the last couple years, and we knew this year we could compete with other teams. I’m glad my girls have been patient, and it’s so rewarding watching them accomplish their goals.”
Lindow said she thinks Heady was able to come up big in the playoff hole because she performs better in those kinds of moments.
“Grace thrives off of adrenaline,” Lindow said. “I think that made her mentality great. Grace loves playing under pressure and I think being tied after the first day for first with two other girls helped her to finish strong.”
Daviess County had a solid lead after day one, when all five golfers shot in the 40s. Their team score went up on day two, but Lindow said they’ll continue to work on consistency before regionals.
“We struggled a little bit, but we’ll get right back into it,” she said. “We’ll work on certain drills with each girl, because they are all different. That’s what we’ll be doing the next couple weeks.”
Other scorers for the Lady Panthers were Holly Holton (88), Addison Heady (90) and Kirsten Henderson (98).
The Lady Aces’ Emma Payne shared a lead with Heady and Carter after nine hole, but she finished the day five shots back with an 84. Teammate Maddie Roberts posted a 41 Tuesday to finish with an 83, good for the third-place individual trophy. Also scoring were Abby Bahnick (83) and Conleigh Osborne (133).
Carter led Apollo, who also got scores from Macey Brown (86), Brooke Brown (100) and Mary Ann Lyons (122). Owensboro had two individuals compete in Savannah Gatton (87) and Angel Howson (100).
