BELLINGHAM — Seo Hee Moon finds herself in unfamiliar territory.
This time she’s the one gazing skyward toward the top of the leaderboard.
The Kamiak High School sophomore and defending state champion is in the unusual position of playing catch-up, trailing by seven strokes following the first day of the class 4A girls state tournament Tuesday.
“I guess I didn’t play my best,” Moon said. “I know I could have done better. There were a couple of holes I think I misjudged. But it was all right, I guess.”
On a wet day at Sudden Valley Golf and Country Club, Moon shot a 5-over-par 77 and is well off the pace set by the leader, freshman Rui Li of Kentwood. Li, playing in the day’s first group alongside Moon, shot a 2-under 70.
Moon is tied for third with Kentridge freshman Lauren Sewell. Bethel senior Sadena Parks, the 2006 state champ, is in second at 75.
Therefore Moon has a lot of work to do in today’s final round if she hopes to repeat. And she’ll have to do it blind as she is not in the day’s final threesome.
“Well, I’d say they’re pretty low,” Moon said of her chances for a second straight title. “But you never know. We’ll see (today).”
Moon hasn’t often had to come from behind during her prep career. Last year as a freshman she blew the field away at the state tournament, winning by a whopping 12 strokes. Last week at the district tournament it was no different as she prevailed by 11. In both cases she held a comfortable lead after the first round.
But now she knows how it feels to be the pursuer as opposed to the pursued.
“I’ve had it happen a couple times with my teammates,” Moon said. “But I’ll just have to play better (today). Rui’s a great girl, she’s a good golfer.”
Li put distance between herself and Moon on the front nine, taking an early five-stroke lead.
At one point on the back nine Moon pulled two strokes back to get within three. However, Moon made two crucial errors on the back. A drive that sailed out of bounds on the par-4 15th hole led to a double-bogey, then a chunked iron shot into the creek on the par-5 17th led to another double-bogey.
“My iron shots weren’t very accurate today,” Moon said.
“(The wet conditions) definitely made my shots go shorter, and my ball would plug and get more spin,” Moon added.
The wet conditions seemed to affect all the players besides Li. With a steady rain through the entire morning and much of the afternoon, the players not only were allowed to lift and clean their balls on the fairways, they also had to deal with soggy grass that often caused a splash on iron shots.
“Everybody’s kind of struggling,” Kamiak coach Bud Davis said. “There’s a few girls who posted good scores, but for the most part everybody’s struggling with the wet and miserable conditions. Hopefully (Moon) can turn it around a little bit tomorrow and play a little better.”
At one point on the 13th green, the players from the opening group were allowed to pick their balls up and pace themselves to a different spot on the green to avoid having to putt through standing water.
“I’ve never done that before,” Moon said with a laugh. “That was different.”
The forecast calls for somewhat better weather conditions today. Both Moon and Davis are hoping that helps change Moon’s fortunes.
“If the weather’s dryer she plays better,” Davis said. “If the conditions are a little warmer and dryer she’s going to play considerably better, so we’ll see.”
Just three other Western Conference players besides Moon were among the 42 who made the cut for today’s final round. Snohomish junior Emily Guthrie was in 13th after shooting an 84; Kamiak sophomore Rachel Choi was tied for 17th at 87; and Oak Harbor senior Anndria Sutter was tied for 32nd at 91.
Redmond, with four players who made the cut, had the inside track on the team title. Kentridge and Lewis and Clark each had three players advance to the final day.
At Sudden Valley Golf Course
First round
Local players making the cut—Tie 3. Moon (Kamiak) 77, 13. Guthrie (Snohomish) 84, Tie 17. Choi (Kamiak) 87, Tie 32. Sutter (Oak Harbor) 91.
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