Two local golfers cracked the top 15 on Thursday when the American Junior Golf Association Circle K Junior Championship hosted by Otter Creek came to a close.
Columbus North incoming junior Nathaly Munnicha tied for seventh with an 8-over 224. She shot a 3-over 75 Thursday after going 4-over Wednesday and 1-over Tuesday.
Columbus East incoming junior Kody Reynolds tied for 13th in the boys tournament with a 1-over 217. He carded a 1-over 73 Thursday, after shooting even-par in each of his first two rounds.
Munnicha has been plagued by the front nine all week, and Thursday was no different. She was 5-over at the turn, but bounced back nicely with three birdies on the back nine that included a long birdie putt on No. 18 and a to shoot 2-under on the back.
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“Now, I just have to put two and two together. But it’s all right, I was able to come back,” Munnicha said. “It’s a new nine. I was able to do it the last two days. I was taking it one shot at a time and not get ahead of myself, and I think that really helped.”
Reynolds was a model of consistency all week. He posted two bogeys to finish at 2-over on the front, but then bounced back on the back nine that included a birdie putt on No. 18 to finish 1-under on the back.
“It was really nice to finish off with that birdie,” Reynolds said. “I didn’t have any birdie on the front nine, so I was just hanging in there. I made mistakes like anyone would have, but it was nice to come back and birdie the last.”
Reynolds said it was exciting playing in the tournament.
“It was nice to be the local guy out here,” Reynolds said. “Last year, on the the third day, I was a little worn out and didn’t play the best. (Shooting) 72, 72 and 73, I’ll almost take that for any kind of tournament, and hopefully, I’ll be able to get into a lot of more tournaments. This was a fun tournament.”
Munnicha also enjoyed playing in the event.
“I just love this atmosphere, the staff, the volunteers. They were all very nice,” Munnicha said. “I got to meet incredible players and probably some new friends. It’s something that I’m not going to forget.”
A third local golfer, Jack Hoover, had just missed the cut by one shot to the final round of the boys tournament.
Drew Doyle of Louisville finished with a 9-under 207 to win the boys event by four shots over Jimmy Zheng of Auckland, New Zealand. Annabelle Pancake of Zionsville won the girls tournament with a 4-under 212, four shots better than Caroline Smith of Inverness, Illinois.
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BOYS
1. Drew Doyle;Louisville;67-68-72—207
2. Jimmy Zheng;Auckland,New Zealand;70-69-72—211
3. Adam Bratton;Newburgh;70-71-71—212
4. Campbell Kremer;Louisville;70-70-73—213
T5. Jack Paeglow;DeKalb, Illinois;74-71-69—214
T5. Zachery Reuland; Rock Hill, South Carolina;71-73-70—214
Local competitor
T13. Kody Reynolds;Columbus;72-72-73—217
GIRLS
1. Annabelle Pancake;Zionsville;73-70-69—212
2. Caroline Smith;Inverness, Illinois;77-68-71—216
3. Katie Dzialga;Greenwich, Connecticut;72-73-74—219
4. Taylor Miano;Dobbs Ferry, New York;76-70-74—220
5. Shannyn Vogler;Sherrard, Illinois;73-71-77—221
Local competitor
T7. Nathaly Munnicha;Columbus;73-76-75—224
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