Sun staff
An exceptional 2013 season came to close for the Milford Lady Eagles golf team as its two district qualifiers failed to take the next step to the state tournament on Thursday, Oct. 10 at Weatherwax Golf Course in Middletown.
Senior Aly Severns and junior Megan Creager were the only two girls from Clermont County to advance out of the sectional tournament and put on a respectable showing at the district.
“The day went really well,” Milford head coach Sandy Garrison said. “The girls were confident and felt like they belonged there.”
Creager and Severns, the No. 1 and 2 players for Garrison’s Lady Eagles, respectively, both finished inside the top-25 with Creager finishing in solo seventh place, the fourth lowest individual not on a qualifying team.
Only the top-3 individuals not on a qualifying team advanced to state.
“The course was set up at 5,700 yards and these girls are used to playing anywhere from 4,900 to 5,300, so it was playing long and (even longer) in the morning,” Garrison said.
The length was more of an issue for Severns than it was for Creager, whose long, flowing swing and big arc make distance not nearly the problem it was for her shorter hitting teammate.
“(Severns) played well,” Garrison said of the senior. “She had some trouble with her short game and some shanks, but she worked through it and tied for 23rd out of the 72 girls that were there.”
Severns ended up shooting 43-45 for a 16-over par total of 88.
Creager, on the other hand, found herself in the hunt for a state qualifying spot at the turn. Playing the Meadows course first, Creager had an under-par round going into No. 9.
“(Creager) turned after a double-bogey on No. 9 and was in a tie for third or fourth place,” Garrison explained. “She was very much in the hunt to be one of three to move on to state, but on the back nine another double bogey crept in and so did some other bogies. She finished as the fourth (individual).”
Nine-hole rounds of 37-42 gave Creager a 7-over par total of 79, three strokes out of a playoff for the final individual qualifying spot.
“Before we walked out of there, both (Severns and Creager) had smiles on their faces,” Garrison said. “They’re both class acts. There weren’t any breakdowns or anger. These two girls have played so much golf in their young lives that they know on any given day that any person could be the one to play well or not play well.
“I’m very proud of them and they represented their high school very well.”
Following this season, Severns and Creager will be going down different paths with the senior Severns heading down to Tusculum College in Greeneville, Tenn. to join the golf team as a preferred walk on.
“Aly will be working hard in the offseason to get better,” Garrison said. “She’s been down (to Tusculum) and they want her on the team.”
Creager, just a junior, will continue to work under the tutelage of Ken Kaiser, the teaching professional at Coldstream Country Club.
“Megan has some goals of her own that are pretty lofty (before leaving high school,” Garrison said. “She wants to reach the upper echelon of the state. She will continue to put herself in tournaments that will push her. She needs to improve her short game, read greens better and adjust to different green speeds.”
Creager will be back in red and white next year trying to defend their Eastern Cincinnati Conference title along with Abby Swensen, Chelsea Nagy, Maggie Engleman, Rebecca Waits and Rachel Berger.