R-P Athletics
Paige Anderson is determined to make her mark in high school golf, and she isn’t wasting any time.
The Reeths-Puffer junior, who placed 21st at the state finals last year, started the new season on fire on Tuesday, taking first place at the season-opening Mona Shores Invitational at Stonegate Golf Course in Twin Lake.
Anderson finished with a 73, three shots ahead of second-place Ashley Duflo from Forest Hills Northern.
It was Anderson’s first victory at a multi-team invitational tournament in high school golf. Her only other tournament win came two seasons ago, when she took top honors in the O-K Green conference tournament.
“I was kind of surprised,” Anderson said. “I expected to shoot more like an 80. I haven’t been shooting my best lately.
“I was pretty excited to win it, and I know I still have a lot of room to improve over the rest of the season.”
Paige Anderson holds the golf towel she received for finishing in the top 10.
Anderson’s biggest moment came on the ninth hole, when she curved a gap wedge around the trees and used the slope of the green to get the ball within 10 feet of the hole. Then she calmly sank a putt to birdie the hole.
That came after she double-bogeyed the eighth hole, which could have caused her to lose her focus and her lead.
“I had prior knowledge of how the green slopes on that hole,” Anderson said. “I thought if I just landed in the center of the green it would feed toward the hole. All I wanted to do was two-putt it, but I ended up taking a birdie.”
R-P golf coach Matt Pallett said Anderson played a smart round.
“She knows her game well,” Pallett said. “She let the game come to her and made the shots when she had to. She did not hit the ball well off the tee today, but she showed a lot of mental toughness.”
The Reeths-Puffer team shot a combined 440 and finished in 11th place in the 13-team tournament.
Ella Klimsza shot a 112 for the Rockets, Abby Haak shot a 125 and Avery Luna had a 130.
The Rockets will next compete on Friday in a tournament at The Meadows at Grand Valley State University.