Peninsula Daily News
SPANAWAY — Alex McMenamin of Sequim and Dana Fox of Port Angeles capped their golf seasons with top-10 finishes Thursday at the Class 2A state tournament at The Classic Golf Club.
McMenamin, a freshman, finished third after shooting an 86, good for a two-day total of 171.
Fox, a senior, finished sixth overall after posting her personal state-best score of 88, good for a two-day total
of 180.
A four-time state qualifier, Fox attained her best finish yet, after ending up tied for 14th last year and tied for 34th as a sophomore.
McMenamin played in the final group Thursday, with day one leader, Kendall Gray of Fife, who eventually won the event with a total of 159, and runner-up Jenn Paul of Bellingham, who finished one stroke back of Gray.
“There was a pretty large gallery following the group,” Wolves coach Garrett Smithson said.
“Playing in front of such a big group should help her out going forward.”
McMenamin, who was in fourth place after Wednesday’s first round, was moved into the final threesome in place of Bellingham’s Madi McNeely, since state tournament rules dictate no more than one player per school in each group.
Better short game
“Alex’s short game and chipping and pitching was better today, she got up and down quite a few times, and she had two birdies on her scorecard,” Smithson said.
“She finished up with a birdie and a par, which was a great way to wrap up, especially with the crowd following along.”
McMenamin bested Fox by just four-tenths of a stroke, 41 to 41.4, for the lowest Olympic League scoring average.
The pair split the Olympic League MVP award after voting by coaches.
Fox improved her score by four strokes Thursday after better short-game play.
“She hit a few longer putts today, a couple of 15 and 20-footers,” Roughriders coach Jacob Lippold said.
“Her chipping was better and her short game was better overall today [than yesterday].”
Fox had to balance coursework through the Running Start program at Peninsula College with her state preparations this week.
“She had to do some reading and write an essay after her practice round Tuesday night,” Lippold said.
Fox will continue her golf career at Bellevue College next season.
“I’m excited to see what she will do next year after she’s been playing golf on a consistent, daily basis,” Lippold said.
“I’m proud of her improvement each year. Qualifying for state all four times and the improvement she has made in her game is a significant achievement.
“It really shows she has gone from just starting out with the game to getting more and more comfortable each time out.”
Smithson was proud of McMenamin as well.
“Her play this year was awesome,” he said.
“She did great at state on a course she’s not very familiar with and gained a good amount of experience under pressure.”
Smithson said that McMenamin has a full schedule of junior tournaments planned this summer as she strives to take her game to the next level.
Bellingham took the girls team title, with two of the top four finishers.
