Girls golf: Furtney's 65 propels St. Charles North to regional crown
Megan Furtney wasn't happy with the way she putted on the front nine Wednesday.
So the St. Charles North sophomore did something about it.
Needing only 11 putts on the back nine, Furtney shot a sizzling 5-under par 65 - including a 29 on the back nine - to take medalist honors and lead the North Stars to the team championship of the Class 2A Burlington Central girls golf regional at Sycamore Golf Club.
Senior Kate Lillie had a 69 for the North Stars, who won their third straight regional title, while Sarah Arnold and Reagan Stanton each shot 78 as SCN fired a 290, just 1 shot off tying the school record for an 18-hole round.
St. Charles East (324) and Geneva (333) picked up the other two team qualifying spots to Monday's Schaumburg sectional at Schaumburg Golf Club while Batavia (351) qualified five individuals.
Furtney's 65 was the lowest reported score in Class 3A statewide Wednesday.
"I struggled on the front nine," said Furtney. "My putting was off and I wasn't reading greens. Just being able to turn that around was really important for me. I knew I had to fix my putting."
Furtney, who birdied her final three holes, duplicated the 65 she shot last week at St. Andrews to win the Upstate Eight Conference Tournament.
"I'm feeling pretty good," she said. "I'm seeing what it takes for my own personal game and I feel confident going into sectionals."
As are the North Stars, currently one of the favorites to win the state championship next weekend in Decatur.
"We've been feeling great all year," Furtney said. "We expect to win every time out and we know if one of us is struggling we have the girls to pick us up."
Lillie, a senior, shot a 31 on the back nine and was the clubhouse leader until Furtney came in.
"The front nine didn't go as I wanted it to but I knew I could make up ground on the back," Lillie said. "I like the layout on the back nine and after my birdie on 10 I felt a lot more confident. I think I'm capable of being under 70. I shot (71) here last year and I just wanted to play to the best of my ability.
"Everybody realizes what is coming up and we're just playing it one round at a time and not thinking too far ahead."
North Stars' assistant coach Mark Smith marvels at his team's consistency, especially considering it has played all season without senior standout Gianna Furrie, who has been out with an elbow injury.
"They've been so consistent all year," said Smith, subbing for head coach Irish Whalen while she is on maternity leave. "Furtney has been incredible and all the girls have been so consistent. We're missing Gianna but Sarah Arnold has done a great job of stepping in. It's great to have the depth we have. The girls are having fun and they're relaxed. They're not bothered by the pressure at all."
St. Charles East shot a solid round, led by a 73 from senior Nicole Jordan.
"I played very consistent," Jordan said. "I hit almost every fairway and green in regulation. My putting was good. I had 31 putts and I was just very consistent and calm."
Rose Bundy had a 77 for the Saints while Riley Sullivan, Kacie Gaffney and Brenna Sheehan each shot 87.
Junior Darcy Lillibridge led Geneva's effort with a 75, the fifth best individual score of the day.
"I'm very pleased," Lillibridge said. "It was a good day overall. I kept it together even when holes got away from me. My driver was pretty straight and I was sinking a lot of good putts. My short game was my biggest aspect to help me today."
Kendal Fioresi (79), Jasey Segebrecht (87) and Katherine Platt (92) also scored for the Vikings as they were able to overtake rival Batavia for the final team qualifying spot.
"It's awesome," Lillibridge said of the team advancing. "We didn't think we'd make it out but we all played consistently and we're excited to be moving on to sectionals."
Included in the individual qualifiers was Lake Park junior Nicole Hansen, who shot a 77.
"My drives were very consistent and long but my short game was very erratic," said Hansen, who advanced to state as a freshman but missed the cut by 3 shots last year. "I couldn't get close enough to holes to have many birdies."
Batavia's five individual qualifiers included Madison McCoy (84), Kaitlyn Stangl (88), Samantha Hasemann (89), Francesca Hoffman (90) and Samantha Baumann (90).
Other individual qualifiers were Emma Carpenter (DeKalb, 72), Brynn Warrick (South Elgin, 85), Brooke Maloney (Lake Park, 87) and Brianna Benjamin (Burlington Central, 93), who beat teammate Sydney Killeen in a playoff for the final spot.