Dragons win 3rd tournament, finish 4th at Patriot League

The Holyoke girls golf team won its third tournament in four tries last week, claiming top honors at the Yuma Invite last Monday.

The Dragons won the tournament by a comfortable 17 strokes over Sterling.

Emma Thompson held off a late run by Sterling’s Macie Doherty to win the individual title by two strokes. The pair outdistanced the rest of the field by at least 12 strokes.

Head Coach Nick Flaa said good play on her first nine holes made the difference for Thompson.

“Emma’s solid front 9 of 42 set her up on the back nine to stay patient and take advantage of what the course gave her,” Flaa said. Thompson finished the day at 86.

Flaa credited Thompson for setting the pace for the Dragons and said Erin Andersen was a key component, too.

“Her two years of tournament experience really showed as she understands how to control those emotions over the course of 18 holes. Her round was fairly stress free; however, we need to start hitting smarter, higher-percentage recovery shots and continue to improve around the greens,” Flaa said.

Andersen placed fifth with a 103. 

Rozlynn Crossland and Megan Walker rounded out the Dragons’ team.

“Around the greens is where Rozi and Megan also let a few shots go, but the two of them also did many positive things throughout the day,” Flaa said, adding the story was really the rough; it was a much higher cut than what Holyoke has seen.

 “Managing some of the lies posed a challenge and cost everyone playing valuable shots throughout the day,” he continued. 

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