Ralston battled to post an 11-over-par 83 for a share of 17th place Tuesday while the Lady Tigers carded a 372 and are tied for 10th after the first round of the Class 5A Region II Tournament at Cottonwood Creek Golf Course.
Senior Kessler Tormey led Belton with an 89, junior Hilary Elrod had a 93, junior Courtney Weise and freshman Courtney Cryer each shot a 95 and sophomore Katelynn Chamness had a 110.
College Station A&M Consolidated tops the 16-team field with a 317 and Consol’s Casey Grice shot a 1-under 71 to lead the 95-player field.
The top two teams and top two other individuals will advance to the University Interscholastic League Class 5A state tournament May 8-9 at Jimmy Clay Golf Course in Austin.
“The greens . . . you have to watch them,” said Ralston, who is in a four-way tie for 17th, 10 strokes behind second. “If you mess up once, you can’t let it affect you. My putting really got me.”
Ralston missed a few par putts on her way to a front-nine 42. After bogeys on Nos. 12 and 13, Ralston found her groove when she knocked a 7-iron to within 3 feet on par-3 No. 14 for a birdie.
Ralston was 7 over through the first 14 holes, but trouble loomed on par-5 No. 15. Her approach shot came up short and found the water.
“The wind came up. I had the right club but I just misjudged the distance,” said Ralston, who went on to make a triple bogey before playing the last three holes at 1 over.
Temple coach Aaron Rodeffer said Ralston struck the ball well, hitting six of seven fairways on the front nine, but her putting didn’t allow her to take advantage.
“She played really well and if a couple more breaks go her way, she’s in the 70s,” Rodeffer said. “If she could get a few more putts to drop, it’s a different story. She’ll get another chance to shoot low tomorrow.”
Ralston will tee off in today’s final round at 8:50 a.m. Belton is expected to start around 8:10.
Tormey, who missed the District 13-5A Tournament in 2005 because of food poisoning and missed regionals in 2006 after suffering a broken wrist, was all smiles after completing her first regional round.
“I’m just glad I’m finally making it through a full season,” Tormey said. “I felt pretty good . . . a lot better than in years past. This course normally eats my lunch.”
Like Ralston, Tormey, Belton’s No. 2 golfer, also had trouble getting comfortable on Cottonwood Creek’s large greens.
Starting on the back nine, she four-putted for a double bogey on No. 12 and three-putted for a bogey on No. 4. At the sixth, Tormey salvaged her round when she fired an 8-iron to within 10 feet and made a birdie putt.
“This is my last year and I’ve played it so many times,” Tormey said. “I was relaxed on the back nine. I know the course better now.”
Elrod, Belton’s No. 1 golfer, never got her short game on track and spent the day filling up her scorecard with bogeys and double bogeys.
“I just had an awful day,” said Elrod, the lone Lady Tiger with regional experience, in 2006. “It was just one of those days. You have good days and you have bad days.”
Coming in, Belton had the 11th-best district score among the field’s 16 teams. Lady Tigers coach Sherry Ayers said the team’s main goal was to improve that position, which it has, sitting in a 10th-place tie with Klein Oak.
She also expects a quicker-paced round today instead of the near six hours it took to play 18 holes Tuesday.
“There were some good things that the younger ones did and I think there is some disappointment with the older girls as far as their game,” Ayers said. “I think they let their patience get the best of them today. I think they have a lot to improve on tomorrow and I think they will. A better pace of play tomorrow and it will be a different story."
cmeister@temple-telegram.com
