Originally published at: https://discgolf.ultiworld.com/2021/03/28/texas-states-king-conquers-dogwood/
Hailey King. Photo: DGPT
In only the third PDGA National Tour event of her career, Hailey King brought home one of the biggest wins of her young career with a victory at the Texas State Disc Golf Championship.
King used strong opening and closing rounds to bookend the weekend and collect her second Elite Series victory. A 3-under par hot round on Sunday brought her winning total to 7-under par, three strokes clear of second place Holly Finley. Things were not easy going as Rebecca Cox, playing on the chase card, put some early stress on King’s lead to start the day.
A 4-under par stretch of five holes from hole 9 to hole 13 was the difference maker for King, that even a rough double-bogey on hole 14 couldn’t derail. King appeared to leave the door open for either Cox or Finley to sneak back into contention as she continued to hit first available tree after first available tree with her forehand approaches. She never veered far off the fairway but barely made progress on the 450-foot hole.
“I was definitely stressed,” said King. “It was bad shots. It wasn’t fun but I kept pushing and didn’t let that hole get to me.”
King was able to steady the ship and ride home to a comfortable tap-in win on hole 18. She connected on 12-of-13 Circle 1x putts during the final round, and finished fifth in C1X putting for the event at 84%. Her 6.48 strokes gained on the green were second best in the field.
Finley moved into solo second, tied for her best career Elite Series finish with a 2018 USWDGC showing, after posting a 2-under par final round. Cox, third, and Alexis Mandujano, tied for fouth with Catrina Allen and Missy Gannon, also either matched or topped their best Elite Series finishes.
Highlights