Sweet encore for Libertyville’s Ou at Pine Meadow
Coming off the buzz of a season-opening 77 at Bonnie Dundee on Tuesday, Libertyville golfer Camilla Ou found herself at even par as she made the turn in Thursday’s Libertyville invite at Pine Meadow Golf Club.
She then chugged a bottle of a sugary sports beverage. She devoured a chocolate energy bar.
The golf course, in turn, chewed her up.
“I just got a little bit of a headache and lost a little bit of my concentration,” Ou said. “I think I had too much sugar.
“That wasn’t very smart on my part.”
Ou’s round?
Sugary-sweet.
Despite shooting 4-over par on her final nine holes, she fired a 76, seven strokes better than runner-up Paige Skinner of Lake Forest. Lake Forest’s Lauren Wyatt finished a shot back of her teammate, placing third with an 84.
Ou carded one birdie on a damp day in Mundelein.
“Camilla played a great round,” said Libertyville coach Greg Pedersen, whose Wildcats (354) finished second to Lake Forest (344). “Her short game consistently makes up for any errors along the way.”
“I’m happy with it,” Ou said of her second strong 18-hole score in as many tournaments this week. “As always, I can do better. But I’m not going to complain about a 76.”
Ou bogeyed No. 1, which was her 10th hole of the day. All golfers teed off on No. 10. The Libertyville senior enjoyed a breakout season last fall, earning an individual sectional berth. She then played in several tournaments this summer.
“This year I’m a little more calm,” Ou said. “I think being around the team helps, too, because over the summer I was too stressed out. Being with the team makes it more fun.”
Carmel Catholic (368) finished third, with freshman Kayla Ryan shooting an 88 to place seventh. She was playing in the No. 6 slot in the Corsairs’ lineup.
“She’s been shooting anywhere from 45 to 50 in practice,” Carmel coach Jill Franz said. “She earned her spot to play No. 6. I’ve got 11 girls that can play, especially for those fifth and sixth spots, and she beat all of them out. She definitely exceeded my expectations. I knew she was capable of shooting in the 90s.”
Carmel also received 90s from Bella Bagshaw and Taylor Smith. The teammates tied for eighth.
Seniors Lauren Dohse (85, tie for fourth) and Paige Webb (91, 10th) also shot double digits for Libertyville. Sophomore newcomer Jessica Lovinger settled for a 102, after shooting an 87 at Bonnie Dundee on Tuesday.
Pedersen was encouraged with what he saw from his team.
“That’s a good score for us,” he said of the 354. “We get a little better each year, it seems like. Right now we’re in a spot where we need some of our younger kids to step up — and actually some of our seniors, too. We need someone to put up a fourth score. Until we do that, we can’t compete with the big hitters yet.”
Vernon Hills (391, fifth) was led by Kari Lee’s 93, Jenny Park’s 95 and Fayth Kim’s 97.
Melissa Uhl and Savannah Saunders shot 98 and 99, respectively, for Lake Zurich (407, sixth). For the junior Saunders, who worked on her game a lot over the summer, Bears coach Mel Fox said, it was the first time she broke 100.