PW junior Rhianna Gooneratne captured the SOL girls golf championship. Photos provided courtesy of Tracy Valko and Larry Small. Check back for a gallery of photos of Thursday's action: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f267618329
Top finishers at Thursday's SOL Girls' Golf Championships were, from left, Madison Molesky (3rd), Talia Hoffner (3rd), Rhianna Gooneratne (1st) and Alli Engart (2nd).
By Ben Reese
WARMINSTER — Rhianna Gooneratne had this from the get-go.
The Plymouth Whitemarsh junior rolled to the Suburban One League girls golf title with just a little bit of competition. It is her first SOL title after finishing second in 2022.
She shot a 3-under 68 over the par-71 Five Ponds Golf Club course, never venturing over par throughout the round. She finished with six birdies and three bogeys, shooting even-par 35 on the front nine followed by a 3-under 33 on the back.
Did you come to this tournament looking to win?
“Yes, I did,” Gooneratne said with a smile. “I definitely knew that I had a shot at it, and I just tried to play the best golf that I could and I’m happy to win.”
OK, that’s confidence. But did you expect to shoot 3-under?
“No,” Gooneratne said very definitely. “I had a birdie streak on the back nine that really brought the score down. I was thinking around even par (for my score).”
She started off quickly, getting a birdie on the first hole. But then she bogeyed the third before notching another birdie on the fourth hole. She gave that back with a bogey on the ninth.
Three straight pars started off her back nine. Then came three straight birdies, a bogey on No. 16 and a birdie on the 18th.
Throughout the day, Gooneratne’s only close competition came from Souderton’s Alli Engart. Engart finished the day at 5-over 76.
So, Alli, did you come looking for a victory?
“Every time you play, the goal is to win but I also knew that I was up against tough competition,” Engart said. “So I just wanted to play my game and commit to every shot and just make sure I was playing the best that I could. I just wanted to prove to myself that I can still play my best golf even if it technically (doesn’t result in a win).”
Third place went to both Talia Hoffner of Upper Dublin and Madison Molesky of Central Bucks East. Both girls shot 14-over 85s.
Looking to win, Talia?
“It was a hope,” she said, “but I know Rhianna is really good. I respect her game. I didn’t know if I could beat her.”
How about you, Madison?
“No,” she said quite definitely.
Hoffner didn’t have a good day on the course. In the long run, it didn’t matter because she still qualified to advance to District One play.
“I was playing well and then I would have one bad shot and it would just like spiral,” Hoffner said.
An example of that came on the par-5 12th hole. Hoffner hit her drive left into the trees which line the fairway.
She thought that her ball was out of bounds, so she hit another drive (called a provisional). But when she went to look for her first ball, it was up against a fence.
“My ball was up against the metal fence that we established was the out of bounds,” Hoffner explained. “There was a second fence in front of it (the metal fence) and my ball was in between both fences.
“Apparently, the mesh fence wasn’t out of bounds; the metal one was. I was up against the metal fence and couldn’t hit it, so I took an unplayable. So, I hit from the last place my ball was.”
Needless to say, the triple bogey eight that she took on the hole didn’t help her score.
Molesky, on the other hand, got to the 18th hole needing a birdie to tie for third. At that point, she was one shot behind Hoffner.
“I hit a nice drive,” Molesky said. “Then I chipped it up and made like a 25-footer up the hill.”
That wasn’t the longest putt made on the day. That belonged to Engart, who holed a 47-footer for a birdie on No. 9.
Now, these four and six other SOL girls move on to the district tournament on Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 10 and 11, at Turtle Creek.
Once again, Gooneratne is confident.
“I think I definitely have a shot again,” she said. “I think I’m going to change my mindset, not trying to survive but trying to win, get some kind of top-three finish. I think it’s a good mindset and it helps me to play better golf.”
Molesky is just looking forward to a better result at districts this year.
“I didn’t do great (last year),” she said. “I shot a 102 so I’m hoping to do better this year.”
The other qualifiers from the Suburban One League are Council Rock North’s Naaz Mehta, Sophia Branca of Central Buck South, Neshaminy’s Sabrina Swope, Helen Smith and Anna Freyne of Pennsbury and Mariana Walker of Council Rock North.
SOL’s District One qualifiers
Rhianna Gooneratne PW 68
Alli Engart Souderton 76
Talia Hoffner Upper Dublin 85
Madison Molesky CB East 85
Naaz Mahta CR North 86
Sophia Branca CB South 89
Sabrina Swope Neshaminy 90
Helen Smith Pennsbury 94
Mariana Walker CR North 96
Anna Freyne Pennsbury 97
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