RICHLAND — Chimacum’s Chris Bainbridge and James Porter and Sequim’s Alex McMenamin are in position for high finishes heading into the final round of the state golf tournaments today.
McMenamin fired an 81 in the first round of the girls Class 2A tournament at Columbia Point Golf Course on Tuesday. That put the Sequim junior in seventh place, four strokes behind leader and defending state champion Kenedee Peters of Ephrata, who carded a 77.
Wolves sophomore Sarah Shea had a career-best day at her first state tournament, shooting an 87.
Shea’s dad, Bill Shea, the Sequim boys golf coach, said her previous best 18-hole score was the 91 shot at the Olympic League 2A Championships at Cedars at Dungeness earlier this month.
Bill Shea said that both McMenamin and Sarah Shea bounced back from rough front nines Tuesday.
McMenamin had a 44 on the front nine and 37 on the back. Sarah Shea improved by 11 after making the turn, from 49 to 38.
Shea is tied for 13th heading into today’s round.
Port Angeles senior Maddie Boe finished the day with a 114. She missed the cut, which was 99.
1A Boys
LIBERTY LAKE — At the boys 1A tournament at Liberty Lake Golf Course, Bainbridge and Porter are tied for ninth, each finishing Tuesday’s round with a score of 77.
The two Cowboys are seven shots off Hoquiam’s John Sand, who leads the field with an even-par 70.
“Chris and James hit the ball pretty well,” Chimacum coach Darren Posey said.
“James was ripping the driver all day long. Chris was just getting up and down and hitting greens.”
Porter birdied the course’s toughest hole, the 470-yard par-4 No. 5. He hit his second shot about 230 yards with a hybrid to within 3 feet of the hole.
“On a hole like that, where it’s that long, a birdie almost feels like a eagle,” Posey said.
Chimacum’s third golfer, Marcus Bufford, shot an 83.
All three Chiamcum golfers made the cut and will play today.
Two of Port Townsend’s four state golfers made the cut, which was 88.
Austin Khile had the Redhawks’ best round, an 81. Patrick Morton was right behind with an 82.
Keegan Khile shot a 92 and Jacob Ralls finished at 98 for Port Townsend. Both missed the cut.
2A Boys
RICHLAND — Sequim teammates Jack Shea and Blake Wiker each shot an 82 in the first round at Horn Rapids Golf Course on Tuesday.
The identical rounds received different evaluations.
“A good round for Blake, not a good round for Jack,” Sequim coach Bill Shea, Jack’s dad, said.
Jack Shea, a senior, had an eagle on the fifth hole and was even through six. But a few shots on No. 7 went out of bounds, and Shea had a nine on the hole.
Later in the round, Shea had bad luck in the sand.
“Two other double [bogeys], basically both from deeply buried balls in the sand bunker that he couldn’t’ advance,” Bill Shea said.
“He basically had two bad swings . . . and two really rough breaks.”
Wiker, a freshman having his first state tournament experience, shot a consistent 41 on the front nine and 41 on the back.
He had four pars on the front and four on the back, and five bogeys on the front and five on the back.
“Blake played really solid,” Bill Shea said.
“He stuck to the game plan. He did exactly what he was supposed to do.”
Wiker and Jack Shea were nine strokes off leader Luke Hall of Liberty of Issaquah, who finished with a 1-over-par 73.
Wiker and Shea are tied for 28th and made the cut, which was 84.
It’s the second straight year Shea has advanced to the final round at state. He finished 10th in 2015.
