Dorman wins inaugral Spartanburg County Girls Golf Championship

Dorman had a day.

The Cavaliers made history as the first-ever Spartanburg County Girls Champions, and did it with a pair of personal-best scores as they shot 293 to edge Chesnee by five strokes,

The Cavaliers got a career-best from medalist Londyn Rath, who shot an ordinary 37 on the front before smoking the back nine with a 30. She made six birdies in a row on the back, starting with a near-ace at the 11th, to claim the win.

“I was two over on the front, and my putting was awful,” Rath said. “But I birdied NO. 9, and then I went to my coach and told her I couldn’t get my speed down. I just couldn’t get comfortable putting. She told me to think about a second cup behind the real cup, and that helped me with my speed.”

Armed with a new approach, Rath promptly went to No. 10 – and left a birdie putt short.

Then came 11.

“I think that’s really what got me going,” she said. “I hit a pitching wedge, and it was a couple of inches from going in for a hole-in-one. I made that one, made another at 12, and knew if I made birdie on the next hole it would be my first-ever turkey.”

So Rath gobbled that next birdie up, and then made three more for good measure.

“I don’t really know, it just kind of kept going,” she said. “I was in a good rhythm and just kept making everything. I was just confident, and it was rolling.”

Teammate A.C. Peake also turned in a career-best round, shooting 68 to finish second overall. Ava Romansky shot 76, and Addison Cox added an 82 for the Cavaliers.

Chesnee fired a 298 to claim second place. Olivia Roberts shot 69, Addison Parker shot 73, Olivia Shields carded a 75, and Abigail Watson had an 81 for the Eagles.

Mountain View Prep shot a 334 to finish third, Byrnes was fourth at 353, and Boiling Springs rounded out the top 5 at 369

Rath, Peake, and Romansky made the All-County team for Dorman, joined by Chesnee’s Roberts, Parker, and Shields and Mountain View Prep’s Arley Jennings and Poppy Dawson.

At the end of the day, though, every golfer who participated made history as the first girls to participate in the County tournament. Chapman coach and tournament organizer Andy Pitt said the tournament has been a long time coming.

“Last year when I got back into girls golf, I had some conversations with (Spartanburg coach) Todd White and (Byrnes coach) Arthur Brooks, and just asked the question why it had never been done before. I was coaching girls golf at Byrnes back in the early 2000s, and it didn’t hit me then. But we thought we could remedy it this year. The boys have had a county tourament for 20 years, and I just figured the girls should have the same.”

Pitt said the girls were excited to be playing.

“I think they’ve enjoyed it,” he said. “My girls were pumped up because they got to play with Boiling Springs and Byrnes, two teams they don’t typically get to play with. We kind of mixed the pairings up a little bit for that reason. I think it creates a lot of excitment for girls golf, and I think that’s just going to continue to grow.”

Dorman coach Laura Maurer agreed.

“We’re thrilled to have a Spartanburg County Championship for the girls,” she said. “It will help grow the game for the girls, not just this generation but future generations. This was a great chance to display our talent and show what Spartanburg County is made of.”