Kayla Smith Leads by 1 at Dogwood State Junior Girls'
Burlington NC's Kayla Smith (photo courtesy of CGA)
ASHEBORO, North Carolina (August 8, 2017) -- Despite damp and dreary conditions in the first round of the 13th Dogwood State Junior Girls' Championship, Kayla Smith of Burlington managed to post a 1-over-par 73, topping the overnight leaderboard at Pinewood Country Club.
"I felt like I stayed focused through all 18-holes," said Smith. "I made sure that I was fully committed to every shot that I hit and having no three-putts was big for me."
Smith admitted that three-putting was an area of her game she was trying to eliminate and felt she took a step toward that today.
"It is definitely a boost of confidence knowing that I have the capability of not three-putting. I just have to continue to commit to my swing and just make sure that I stay focused through the entire round, which will give me good opportunities for birdies."
One shot back of Smith is Sasha Hayes of Winston-Salem at 2-over-par, 74.
"I thought I had a well-rounded day today," said Hayes. "I putted the ball really well and I kept all of my drives in the fairway. The rain is one of those things as a player you just have to play through, and I thought I did a good job of that."
Hayes noted that she plans to change some of her approaches to some flags, but her overall game plan tomorrow will be relatively the same. "I played pretty well today, so I do not think I need to change much." Jayla Rogers of Wilmington and Riley Hamilton of Reidsville are deadlocked in third at 4-over-par.
The second round will begin at 8:00 AM ET on Wednesday.