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Sunner increases lead early, wins Pepsi LPGC
By Brad Cameron/Gate City Sports Editor
HAMILTON, Ill. - First round leader Abbi Sunner felt she needed to shoot a better score Wednesday to win the Pepsi Little People's Championship in the girls 18-19 age division.
She did just that.
Sunner followed her opening round 79 with a 2-over par 74 on day two. The Ankney native went on to win the title by five shots over Carroll's Maureen White Wednesday at Deer Run Golf Course.
“It's awesome to win this tournament,” Sunner said. “There weren't as many people here as I would have hoped, but hopefully this field gets a little stronger next year. This is a good tournament, always has been, and I'm happy.”
Sunner entered the second day with a two-shot lead over White, but the margin expanded to five on the front nine.
“I just don't know what my problem was today,” White said. “I just got off to a tough start. I couldn't get going. Yesterday I parred the first couple of holes and got off to a quick start, but the back nine was my nemesis. I kind of flipped it around today because I did better on the back nine.”
White shot an even-par 36 on the final nine holes, but it wasn't enough to catch Sunner.
“It was fun to play with Abbi again,” White said. “We've played together quite a bit. I thought I could catch her, but I kind of fell apart on the front. I knew I had to make a move on the back, but I knew she would be hard to catch. I tried my best.”
Sunner learned a lot about the course on the first day of competition and it showed with the improvement in her score Wednesday.
“The more you play this course the better you do I think,” Sunner said. “It's just one of those courses you have to play to know. It played about the same as yesterday, but I learned a lot from that first round. I learned from it and did what I could to do better today.”
Alex Anderson of Swansea, Ill., improved 11 shots from her opening round score. She started the second day in sixth-place, but her 3-over par 75 helped her finish third overall with a two-day score of 161.
“My putting was much better today,” Anderson said. “I think I had 28 putts today. Yesterday I think I ended up with five three-putts. I came out and worked on my putting last night and it helped turn things around.”
Anderson gained some confidence on the final hole Tuesday when she chipped in a shot for a birdie to finish her first round with an 86.
“That shot felt like maybe something could go my way for the next day,” Anderson said. “Yesterday was rough, but it's always good to end on a good note like that. I was a lot more mentally focused today amd everything kind of clicked for me.”
Allie Andrews of Ballwin, Mo., finished fourth with a 164, while Kate Hiller of Clive finished fifth with a 170.
Keokuk's Nerissa Hetzel finished ninth with a 180.
She did just that.
Sunner followed her opening round 79 with a 2-over par 74 on day two. The Ankney native went on to win the title by five shots over Carroll's Maureen White Wednesday at Deer Run Golf Course.
“It's awesome to win this tournament,” Sunner said. “There weren't as many people here as I would have hoped, but hopefully this field gets a little stronger next year. This is a good tournament, always has been, and I'm happy.”
Sunner entered the second day with a two-shot lead over White, but the margin expanded to five on the front nine.
“I just don't know what my problem was today,” White said. “I just got off to a tough start. I couldn't get going. Yesterday I parred the first couple of holes and got off to a quick start, but the back nine was my nemesis. I kind of flipped it around today because I did better on the back nine.”
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“It was fun to play with Abbi again,” White said. “We've played together quite a bit. I thought I could catch her, but I kind of fell apart on the front. I knew I had to make a move on the back, but I knew she would be hard to catch. I tried my best.”
Sunner learned a lot about the course on the first day of competition and it showed with the improvement in her score Wednesday.
“The more you play this course the better you do I think,” Sunner said. “It's just one of those courses you have to play to know. It played about the same as yesterday, but I learned a lot from that first round. I learned from it and did what I could to do better today.”
Alex Anderson of Swansea, Ill., improved 11 shots from her opening round score. She started the second day in sixth-place, but her 3-over par 75 helped her finish third overall with a two-day score of 161.
“My putting was much better today,” Anderson said. “I think I had 28 putts today. Yesterday I think I ended up with five three-putts. I came out and worked on my putting last night and it helped turn things around.”
Anderson gained some confidence on the final hole Tuesday when she chipped in a shot for a birdie to finish her first round with an 86.
“That shot felt like maybe something could go my way for the next day,” Anderson said. “Yesterday was rough, but it's always good to end on a good note like that. I was a lot more mentally focused today amd everything kind of clicked for me.”
Allie Andrews of Ballwin, Mo., finished fourth with a 164, while Kate Hiller of Clive finished fifth with a 170.
Keokuk's Nerissa Hetzel finished ninth with a 180.
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