On the surface, taking third place out of five teams doesn’t sound so great.
But when your third-place golf team finishes only four strokes out of first place, it’s a lot more encouraging.
That was the case for the rapidly-improving Reeths-Puffer girls golf team, which finished third in Tuesday’s O-K Green conference jamboree at the Muskegon Country Club.
It was the second third-place finish for the Rockets in two conference meets, but this one was far more uplifting because R-P was very much in the hunt all the way to the end.
Sophia McCollum, who tied for first place individually.
The Rockets finished with a team score of 188. First-place Byron Center shot a 184 and second-place Caledonia came in at 185.
The Rockets’ team score was a 17-stroke improvement from the first conference jamboree, which thrilled R-P Coach Matt Pallett.
“The girls continue to work hard and we are seeing a lot of improvement,” he said. “This team continues to trend in the right direction.”
The star of the day for R-P was emerging standout Sophia McCollum, a sophomore who shot a 39 and tied for first place in the individual standings.
Rowan Bluhm, who took third place.
McCollum birdied her first two holes and finished 14 shots better than she did in the jamboree at the country club a year ago.
Right behind McCollum was senior Rowan Bluhm, who shot a 42 and finished in third place individually.
Sophomore Olivia Ambler recorded a 51 and improved her score from last year by 20 shots. Senior Emma Dvorak shot a 56 and was 12 shots better than when she played the course just over a week ago. Ella Voorhies shot a 61 for R-P.
“Sophia and Rowan continue to play very good golf,” Pallett said. “Even with that, I still think their best golf is yet to come.
“Olivia, Emma and Ella continue to improve. I love their attitudes and their work ethic.”
The Rockets will compete again next Tuesday in the third conference jamboree of the season at Saskatoon Golf Club.