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Two days after placing 10th at the Division II girls state golf tournament, Woodmore sophomore Mikayla Baer was already thinking about 2011.
“I'm proud of it,” she said, “but I definitely know I can do better. We're just going to go back next year and see what happens.”
Woodmore coach Steve Burner said he doesn't question Baer's desire and work ethic.
“Mikayla's a go-getter,” Burner said. “This will leave a bad taste in her mouth for next year. She's the type of person, she knew her game is good enough to be in the top five if not the top one. Her goal is to be the top golfer in the state of Ohio.”
Baer tied for 10th place with Sydney Kirby, a senior for D-II state champion Shaker Heights Hathaway Brown, after shooting a 77-80—157 last Friday and Saturday on the Gray Course at Ohio State University.
Baer is the first Woodmore girl to qualify for the state tournament.
“She played really great,” Burner said. “The greens down there are unbelievable. They roll them and cut them at the same time and we don't see any speed like that around here. The first day she was really good on the greens. The second day she three-putted three or four times. Our goal was to get in the top 10. When she found out she got in the top 10, she was really happy.”
Baer, who had the fifth-best score of the 12 individual state qualifiers, said she was pleased with her effort in Friday's opening round.
“I would miss a lot of putts and leave them pretty far away, then I'd make the second one out of nowhere,” she said. “I felt I was OK. I was definitely proud of it. I knew there were a couple strokes I should have dropped. Some shots should have never happened - a couple chips I left short and a couple I left long. But, I can't complain.”
Baer had some early difficulty on the greens on Saturday, needing three putts on two of the first three holes.
“I played OK on Saturday,” Baer said. “I really had no confidence in my putting that day. On the first hole, I almost made a 30- to 35-foot birdie putt. I three-putted on the second green and I three-putted on the third green, and it went on from there. The greens are much faster down there, but I was prepared for that. You just work on your stroke and that's about it. You can't do much else.”
Baer advanced to the state tournament by winning her sectional at White Pine Golf Course in Swanton and then shooting a 78 and tying for medalist honors at last week's district tournament at Sycamore Springs in Arlington. She placed second in a scorecard playoff.
She received a plaque after earning second-team All-Ohio honors at the state tournament.
“I knew I had to play my game and not put too much pressure on myself and I would do well,” Baer said. “Initially, going in my only goal was to just play my game. After the first day I was tied for seventh and I said, 'OK, I want to finish in the top 10.' When I finished 10th, I was still very upset. I wasn't sad, but I knew I didn't play as well as I should have.”
Baer, who this year helped Woodmore's boys team win its ninth SLL tournament title, said she needs to refine some parts of her game if she hopes to win a state championship.
“My confidence over my putter, and probably my emotional state,” she said. “I've come a long way from being upset over shots, but there is still a lot of improvement to be done.”
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