Closing the Deal: Perrysburg golfer rallies late to win Ohio Junior Girls Championship
MARION — Sydney Deal was certainly dealing down the stretch.
Down three strokes as she made the final turn, the Perrysburg junior-to-be fell another stroke behind playing partner and leader Audrey Ryu as the 46th Ohio Junior Girls Championship entered the backside of the course at the Marion Country Club.
That merely set up a title-earning run as good as any in the long history of the event.
Deal recorded three birdies in the final six holes and that was enough to win the two-day, 36-hole tournament outright on Tuesday afternoon with a 2-under-par 142, one better than Ryu.
"I know I can win, so I’m just trying to be as steady as I can and try to make some birdies and make something happen," Deal said of her mindset.
Both players birdied the par-5 13th, but Deal picked up a stroke on the 14th with a par. She then birdied the par-3 15th to get a shot closer. Deal's par on No. 16 and birdie on No. 17 tied her with Ryu with only the 18th hole to play.
"I was trying to get it close on the greens and see if I could make some birdies," Deal said of her comeback.
On the 18th, both players had similar chips to the hole, but Deal's par proved to be good enough to claim victory.
"If I’m really close to someone, it’s nice to be able to play with them," Deal said of keeping tabs on her chief rival on Tuesday. "You know exactly what’s going on. I love Audrey, too. Playing with her is so fun. We’re competitive. We’ve been playing together for a very long time. It was fun."
Ryu came into the final round with the lead after carding a 3-under-par 69 on Monday with scores of 33 and 36. Deal was one behind with a 33-37.
"I guess overall I’m not unhappy with how I played," said Ryu, a senior-to-be at Dublin Jerome. "If I came to myself a week ago and said, 'If you shot 1-under for the tournament, would you be okay and would you take that?' I would be like, ‘Yeah, totally.’"
Still, she admitted there was some disappointment with the finish.
"I can think of two specific shots out there that I left out there," Ryu said. "But that happens. The lowest rounds I’ve ever seen there’s some sort of mistake that everyone wishes they could do better. I guess I am a little disappointed, but I have to accept it and move on. I’m not unhappy with a second-place finish."
Ryu said she lost track of the scores between herself and her playing partners.
"I was trying not to think about it," she said. "I did know it was close. It was a little frustrating at times when I dropped a shot."
Ryu is the defending Division I girls individual state champion in the OHSAA tournament as Jerome finished third as a team, but before she can defend that crown, she has a couple more summer events to play in.
"Before this I had some not-so-good tournaments, so this is good for momentum maybe and a little confidence boost so I can perform well in my next two tournaments," she said. "High school season is really fun and it’s almost like a break from the summer season. I’ll definitely be happy to get there and see my team again."
Deal echoed her rival's thoughts.
"High school season is a fun thing for me almost," she said. "I get to play with my friends. It’s always trying to make it to state. That’s definitely the goal and hopefully my team can make it this year. I’m excited. It’s nice to have a win, and I haven’t had one in a while."
Deal finished tied 20th in D-I state tournament last fall. Nevertheless, she posted a tournament-best 28 pars in Marion this week to go with six birdies and only one bogey. She endured one bad hole over two days, scoring a triple bogey 6 on the second hole Tuesday.
Ryu was consistent and avoided trouble, recording 23 pars, seven birdies and six bogeys with no other marks on her scorecard.
Angelina Gong of Dublin, who won the 14-to-15 age group with a 146 to beat Kristina Ma of Columbus by two strokes, topped the event with eight birdies along with Isabella Goyette of Medina who was sixth in the 16-to-19 group with a 150.
Finishing behind Deal and Ryu in the oldest division and taking home trophies were Springboro's Morgan Rodgers with a 3-over-par 147, Pataskala's Gracie James with a 148 and Hilliard's McKenzie Miller with a 149.
After Goyette, rounding out the top 10 in the 16-to-19 group were Montgomery's Caroline Thompson with a 151 and Shelby's Nicole Jones, Solon's Kaitlin Kormuth, Pepper Pike's Ella Wong and Greenville's Kenna Jenkinson with 153s.
Following Gong and Ma atop the 14-and-15 division were Elyria's Claire Liu with a 6-over-par 150 and Fairview Park's Cammy Reed, Lewis Center's Skylar Dean and Delaware's Meadow Tian who all shot 152s.
In the 13-and-younger group, Lewis Center's Jodie Han shot a 4-over-par 148 to take first, while Eva Lim of Columbus was second at 155, and Bella Anderson of Powell was third at 157.
The tournament saw 75 competitors finish, including five sets of sisters.
Locally, Pleasant's Dina Shah ended tied for 38th in the upper division after shooting an 84-88 172. Pleasant's Maura and Maddie Murphy withdrew from competition after shooting 83 and 105 respectively on Monday.
As for Deal, she hopes to be dealing again next summer while trying to defend her title in her fourth appearance in the Ohio Junior Girls Championship.
"It’s definitely amazing to have my name added to that list of great players throughout the years. It’s a really cool thing," she said. "I love this event. I haven’t played great here in the past, but I like the course and all the people here. It’s run as a great tournament."
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This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Ohio Junior Girls Championship: Sydney Deal closes out with victory
