Chapel Hill's Gina Kim wins NCHSAA 3A girls’ golf championship

On a day not fit for golf, Chapel Hill sophomore Gina Kim posted what she called a “boring” round of 71 to win the N.C. High School Athletic Association 3A girls golf individual championship by six strokes.

The 1-under-par round on Tuesday at Foxfire Resort and Golf Club followed a masterful 4-under 68 on Monday. Kim, who is among the top 50-ranked junior girls golfers in the nation, opened the tournament with birdies on four of her first eight holes on Foxfire’s Red Fox course. She shot 32 on the front nine and never looked back.

“I felt like it gave me a huge advantage, really got my tournament going,” Kim said of her opening nine. “It motivated me to go even lower.”

Kim played an even back nine in the opening round (one birdie, one bogey), but Mother Nature kept her from going low on Tuesday with temperatures in the 50s, windy conditions and off-and-on rain.

Kim went to 5-under for the tournament with a birdie at the 487-yard, par-5 fourth in the final round.

“She hit the ball close to the pins on a lot of holes,” said Chapel Hill golf coach Jim Williams. “She drove the ball very well and had some great up-and-downs for pars, really helped her get her rounds going both days with her short game. Her putting was good, but I’m sure she feels like she left seven or eight shots out there with her putter.”

Her back nine included a pair of bogeys and two birdies.

“I just thought about trying to keep making pars, maybe sneak in a birdie when I could,” Kim said. “I felt like I was pretty consistent. It was just good, boring golf in a way.”

Led by individual state runner-up Siranon “Muk” Shoomee, Lee County tied for second in the team competition. Shoomee – the two-time reigning 3A champ – finished at 1-over for the tournament. The Yellow Jackets improved on their first round team total by 14 shots on Tuesday, tying with conference foe Fayetteville Terry Sanford at 516. Allyson Von Canon finshed at 185 for Lee, while Megan Von Canon shot 186.

Rockingham County won the team title at 510. Hickory was fourth and Union Pines, led by Abby Parsons’ tie for eighth place, took fifth.

Johnston County golfers Parker Watson of Smithfield-Selma and Sydney Wheeless of South Johnston both finished in the top 12 individually. Watson tied for eight at 162, while Wheeless posted back-to-back rounds of 82 for solo 11th.

This story was originally published October 28, 2015 at 9:00 PM with the headline "Chapel Hill's Gina Kim wins NCHSAA 3A girls’ golf championship."