‘The longest 18 holes I’ve ever played.’ Madison Central girls golf to return to state.
Mollie Neeley is superstitious.
She prefers to park in the same spot every day at school, and she doesn’t ever like to use her phone during a round of golf. So when thunderstorms suspended play Tuesday at the Region 9 Championship after she birdied both the 12th and 13th holes, she became a bit nervous to see the leaderboard — where her name stood alone at the top — before her round was complete.
“I was thinking, ‘There’s no way (weather will interfere),’” Neeley said. “Like, ‘We’re getting this done. We’re good.’ And I don’t look at my phone at all in the round, and so I just knew where I stood, and I knew my score, so I was just gonna keep playing. And then we got called in, and then I had to look at the leaderboard so I knew where I stood.”
The Madison Central junior went home Tuesday evening at 2 under par — and with a two-shot lead — set to return Wednesday morning and resume on the 14th hole with a shotgun start at the University Club of Arlington.
“It was the longest 18 holes I’ve ever played,” Neeley said. “So that made it a little bit more nerve wracking, and I was very anxious going back out for the second time. … I mean, you never expect 18 holes to take more than four hours, let alone 36.”
Neeley opened play Wednesday with a bogey on 14 — putting her only one shot ahead of a tight tie for second place.
“Even Principal (Brandon) Fritz was walking with me,” Neeley said. “And he could tell I was very nervous. I just had some rough shots I hit, and I really had to make it up.”
So, how does an experienced golfer calm down enough to maintain her confidence and composure? One deep breath, one stroke, one hole at a time.
“Before my putt, I just shake everything out and I take a deep breath,” Neeley explained. “And that helps me stay calm in my stroke because I have to. If I get nervous, I can’t hit the ball. But I kind of just remember, if I get too in my head, I’ve got the game to get the job done. So I just gotta stay calm.”
And stay calm, she did. Even through yet another delay — this one about an hour long, caused by a short-but-strong downpour that left the greens in need of draining — Neeley maintained her one-shot lead through 18 holes; she was the only golfer to finish under par. Her teammate, Mackenzie Federspiel, shot par to take second place and secure Madison Central’s 2024 region team championship.
“These past couple tournaments these past couple weeks,” Neeley said. “We haven’t played to our best potential. And me especially, I’ve felt I just haven’t played the best. So we all kind of came together and we really focused in on our practices, and just decided we want to win another region title. This year is our year. So I think today and yesterday, we just put our best foot forward with our confidence.”
Head coach Tennye Ohr, who led the program to a state championship in 2022, credited Neeley and Federspiel’s focus, and their ability to adapt in the face of adversity.
“(Neeley) has played this game since she was little,” Ohr said. “She really knows how to have grit and to block things out. And that’s what you have to have to be a winner, is a lot of grit. … Mackenzie has kept her head to herself, she’s played her own game. She’s coming into her own. I can’t teach length, which she has, but I’ve been hammering all fall — short game, putting, recovery shots. Just so that if we happen to hit shots out of trees, we don’t panic. And when they can be comfortable doing that, then they’re going to play much better.”
Last season, Madison Central took third place in the regional — missing the second, state-qualifying spot by a single stroke, and sitting just two strokes behind friendly rival Lexington Christian — despite sending four individual golfers to state. It wasn’t how they wanted it to go, to say the least, but it fueled the fire to come back stronger.
“Last year, I was highly disappointed because we had such a good team,” Ohr said. “But it’s like golf, we had two teams to nip us. It’s very exciting for the girls because it’s all about them. They put in a lot of work, and we practice hard. And we’ve been having battles with LCA all fall long, and to get one that’s this meaningful is really special.”
LCA books return trip
Matthew Soale has a young team this year, but that didn’t stop Lexington Christian Academy from punching its return ticket to state. A year removed from a region title, LCA finished one shot behind 2024 champ Madison Central thanks to impressive showings from Grace Soale (73), Caroline Lankford (76) and Carter Lankford (76).
“I feel really, really good,” Soale said. “We’ve got a really young team, and we just kind of keep getting better each tournament. So we’re pretty deep, I feel really good about where we’re at. And it was a long 48 hours here to get this in, but glad we did. And I’m super proud of our girls, they just kind of compete all the time.”
Franklin County sends four to state
The Flyers might not be competing as a team at the 2024 KHSAA Girls’ State Golf Championship, but they had an impressive showing at this year’s region championship. Franklin County’s Mary Clayton Rodgers (78), Emerson Bowling (84), Lyla Hardesty (84) and Claudia Logan (84) will all vie for an individual state title in Bowling Green.
Region 9 Championship results
Top individuals (individuals from top two teams, plus next 10 individuals qualify for state tournament): 1. Mollie Neeley, Madison Central, 71; 2. Mackenzie Federspiel, Madison Central, 72; 3. Grace Soale, Lexington Christian, 73; 4. Channing Hagen, Lexington Catholic, 75*, 5. Abigail Caine, Woodford County, 75*, 6. Caroline Lankford, Lexington Christian, 76*; 7. Kylah Lunsford, Henry Clay, 76*; 8. Carter Lankford, Lexington Christian, 76*; 9. Mary Clayton Rodgers, Franklin County, 78; 10. Georgia Scott, Lexington Catholic, 81; 11. Emerson Bowling, Franklin County, 84*; 12. Lyla Hardesty, Franklin County, 84*; 13. Claudia Logan, Franklin County, 84*; 14. Emily Bishop, Great Crossing, 85*; 15. Phoebe Grier, Frederick Douglass, 85*.
* Ties broken according to KHSAA scorecard rules.
Top teams (top two advance to state tournament): 1. Madison Central 302; 2. Lexington Christian 303; 3. Franklin County 330; 4. Lexington Catholic 334; 5. Frederick Douglass 357; 6. Woodford County 360; 7. Frankfort 409; 8. Henry Clay 425; 9. Paul Laurence Dunbar 434; 10. George Rogers Clark 451; 11. Sayre 457.
Girls state championship
Oct. 1: First round at Eagles Nest Country Club in Somerset
Oct. 10-12: Final round at Bowling Green Country Club
Herald-Leader staff writer Jared Peck contributed to this article.
This story was originally published September 26, 2024 at 8:34 AM.
