Furnish finally claims state golf berth

OTTUMWA - Megan Furnish didn't sleep well Sunday night.

The Cedar Rapids Jefferson senior should sleep well Monday.

After missing the state meet by one stroke each of the last two years, Furnish finally captured that state berth with a convincing title at the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union Class 4A regional Monday at Ottumwa Country Club. Furnish posted an 8-over-par 80, winning by six strokes.

"I was so happy that all my hard work has paid off," Furnish said. "I've worked really hard to get here. I've had a lot of support along the way from my family, coach and school."

Furnish, one of the state's top golfers who will play at Southwest Missouri State next year, had been snake bit the previous two seasons, suffering a late back injury as a junior and putting up some of her highest scores at regional. She was anxious, waiting for her final chance, especially while playing the course Sunday.

"I was up every now and then, excited for (Monday) to start," said Furnish, whose dad, Craig, also experienced nerves, waking up for the day at 4 a.m. "Even (Sunday) I was. During the practice round I was was like can't it be (Monday) yet."

Both excitement and relief accompanied the achievement. Deja vu snuck in, however, when she had a rough start that saw her 4-over through three. She composed herself and was only 4-over the remaining 15 holes, including a helpful birdie on the No. 8 hole.

"I turned it around and tried to think positive," Furnish said. "I just wanted to finish strong no matter what. Even if I didn't make it, I'd know that I tried to do as much as possible to come back and out myself in a position to have a chance at going."

Jefferson Coach Dan Ray was not surprised by her poise. He has witnessed the hard work and the confidence it has supplied this season.

"It shows a lot of character," Ray said. "She regrouped and came back."

The course challenged the entire field, testing golfers' decisions with tricky approach shots over water, difficult and fast greens, and narrow fairways bracketed by numerous trees. Course management and smart play elevated Furnish. It showed with a birdie on the par-5, 12th hole where she laid up after her drive was right of the fairway and then stuck her approach a few feet from the cup before dropping in the putt.

She said punch shots were key, executing three on the front nine to avoid further trouble and salvage good scores.

"It came down to her short game and her ability to keep the ball in play to give herself a chance to score," Ray said. "These greens were really fast. I think that took a lot of kids out of it because they didn't handle it.

"Her hard work, working around the green, paid off."

Jefferson's last state qualifier in girls golf was unavailable, but Scott Kibby said the J-Hawks have not had one in his 10 years as Athletics Director. The celebration, however, will be delayed. Furnish has to finish studying for finals Monday night. Plus, she still has things to accomplish.

"My goal is to win it," Furnish said. "I'm going to keep practicing hard this last week and not only be thankful that I made it but try to win it."

Cedar Rapids Washington sophomore M.J. Kamin will continue to balance her busy spring schedule. The Warrior sophomore, who is also a standout soccer player, can now cross off state qualifier from her score list, shooting 87 and placing fourth.

"It feels great," said Kamin, an all-Mississippi Valley Conference performer, who sat out of varsity play all last season due to school district residence rules. "It was a tough run there at the end. I was pretty nervous. I felt pretty confident in my score. I'm really glad I made it."

Her ability to manipulate the tough greens propelled her to the top finish.

"It was putting for me," Kamin said. "I was making a lot of five-footers. It really helped me out."

Cedar Rapids Xavier just missed a second straight state tournament appearance, shooting 395 and finishing three shots back of West Des Moines Valley for second. Host Ottumwa won the team race with 361. The top two teams advance to next week's state meet at Otter Creek Gofl Course in Ankeny.

Maddie Bertsch, who scored consecutive birdies with a chip on the par-3 seventh and a long putt on the par-5 No. 8, and Grace Winker led the Saints with 91 apiece.

Linn-Mar, a 2011 state qualifier, was fourth with 400. The Lions were paced by senior Dionna Jensen, who played her first round of varsity competition Monday, returning from a broken wrist last week. She shot 91.

CLASS 4A REGIONAL

At Ottumwa

(Ottumwa Country Club, par 72)

Teams - 1. Ottumwa 361*, 2. West Des Moines Valley 392, 3. C.R. Xavier 395, 4. Linn-Mar 400, 5. C.R. Prairie 428, 6. Burlington 437, 7. Iowa City West 440, 8. C.R. Kennedy 449, 9. C.R. Washington 488, 10. Indianola 495, C.R. Jefferson, Oskaloosa, no score.

State qualifiers - 1. Megan Furnish (CRJ), 80, 2. Darby Patritto (Ott), 86**, 3. Dani Duersschmidt (WDMV), 86, 4. M.J. Kamin (CRW), 87, 5. Whitney Dostal (Ott), 88.

C.R. Xavier (395): Maddie Bertsch 91, Grace Winker 91, Lisa Olberding 105, Taylor Wertzberger 108

Linn-Mar (400): Dionna Jensen 91, C.J. Davis 101, Rachel Thrune 102, Julie Pople 106

C.R. Prairie (428): Kerstin Flugum 98, Konn

or Griffith 108, Alyssa Beisker 111, Emily Perrin 111

Iowa City West (440): Olivia Ewing 108, Tiffany Danger 109, Madyson Boardman 111, Sarah Hellem 112

C.R. Kennedy (449): Ali Lindo 93, Sadie Schultz 111, Raemi Chavez 120, Hannah Harberts 125

C.R. Washington (488): Kamin 87, Kandis O'Donnell 119, Elizabeth Stanczyk 134, Anna Rohde 148

C.R. Jefferson: Furnish 80, Emily Aukes 114

*-State qualifying team

**-Won cardback.