Girls golf: Emma Lee cruises to a comeback win at Section 1 Championship
ARMONK – Emma Lee was unfazed.
The moment got a little bigger on Wednesday, but the Scarsdale freshman went about her business with uncommon savvy, erasing a four-shot deficit to win the Section 1 Girls Championship going away.
Lee closed with a round of 75 at the Whippoorwill Club, giving her a 3-over total of 148.
“Things were a little rocky at the start, but I got used the greens and kind of honed in on my game later in the round so I really felt like I was in the zone,” she said.
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Lee has a head start on her older sister, Kaitlyn, who won in 2018 and 2019 before heading off to Yale.
There might be a little bragging.
“She’ll definitely come at me when she beats me in a friendly round and tease me a little bit,” Lee said. “Now I’ve got one here, too.”
Ursuline junior Sofia Nogalo came into the final round with the lead after shooting a 69 on Monday at Spook Rock, but ran into some trouble. The defending champion shot 83 to finish runner-up, four shots with a 7-over total of 152.
She carded five bogeys and one double immediately after making the turn.
“I feel like on Monday the course was pretty short and I knew there were a lot of birdie opportunities,” Nogalo said. “Coming here today I had a four-shot lead and I was just looking to post a good round. I was able to do that on the first nine we played, but then on the second nine, I kind of let myself go and let my brain get the best of me.”
“Emma played really well. It started to slip away from me on the 10th hole. I was making careless mistakes and started to get a little nervous when I didn’t need to be.”
Lee was enjoying a two-shot lead with three hole to play when she pulled a drive out of bounds.
There was no panic. She rolled in a 40-footer to make bogey and preserve her advantage.
“I was thinking, ‘Oh, no,’ when I hit it,” Lee said. “I was trying to keep a straight mind. Anything can happen, so I focused on my game. I had a very long putt. The pin was in the back and I was right in the front, but I was like, ‘OK, I can make this if I really, really try.’ It went in and that was a great feeling. It was a really important putt and I think it put a lot of pressure on Sofia and gave me a lot of leverage.”
The top nine finishers earned the right to compete in the NYSPHSAA meet June 5-6 at McGregor Links Country Club in upstate Wilton.
Scarsdale and Ursuline are each sending three golfers.
Julia Kret (Ursuline) finished third followed by Nina Choe (Ursuline), Jacqueline Lu (Scarsdale), Allison Kahn (Scarsdale), Molly Stoltz (Bronxville), Faith Petrino (Byram Hills/Fox Lane) and Hailey Ryan (Rye).
The Koalas will also be competing for the team title.
“I’m super excited to go to states,” Nogalo said. “We were just talking about what we’re going to wear, how we’re going to do our hair so I’m pretty stoked to go. I’m really proud of our team and really excited for Ursuline at states. I’m hoping we can finish the job up there, too.”
Section 1 Girls Championship
Final round
At Whippoorwill Club
1. Emma Lee (Scarsdale) 72-73-148
2. Sofia Nogalo (Ursuline) 69-83-152
3. Julia Kret (Ursuline) 78-78-156
4. Nina Choe (Ursuline) 74-83-157
4. Jacqueline Lu (Scarsdale) 76-81-157
6. Allison Kahn (Scarsdale) 77-83-160
7. Molly Stoltz (Bronxville) 74-88-162
8. Faith Petrino (Byram Hills/Fox Lane) 78-84-162
9. Hailey Ryan (Rye) 81-83-164
10. Chelsea Wang (Rye Neck) 80-88-168
11. Chloe Ji (Scarsdale) 81-88-169
11. Olivia Deakins (Dobbs Ferry) 83-86-169
13. Maya Shirakura (Somers) 90-81-171
14. Mia Holbrook (John Jay-Cross River) 85-87-172
15. Sarah Brannigan (Ursuline) 79-94-173
16. Olivia Naporano (Harrison) 85-89-174
17. Kayla Howell (Yorktown) 89-87-176
18. Myla Bisceglia (Rye) 91-93-184
19. Alexa Kyriacou (Suffern) 90-96-186
20. Karen Becher (Scarsdale) 88-98-186
21. Sarah O'Leary (Pleasantville) 91-101-192
Mike Dougherty covers boys soccer, boys lacrosse, girls basketball and golf for The Journal News/lohud.com. He can be reached at mdougher@lohud.com, or on Twitter @hoopsmbd, @lohudlacrosse, @lohudhoopsmbd and @lohudgolf.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Emma Lee wins Section 1 Girls Golf Championship at Whippoorwill
