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Ferrell’s title hopes fade a bit

Photo

Photo by Bill Olmsted

Brooke Ferrell reacts after missing a short par putt on the seventh green of University Ridge on Monday.

MADISON — Brooke Ferrell pushed back the tear falling from her left eye before entering the official scorer’s tent behind the 18th green at University Ridge.

Ferrell, an Edgerton High School junior, registered a 7-over-par 79 for Monday’s first round of the WIAA Division 2 girls state golf tournament. She trails Casey Danielson of Osceola, who shot a 2-under 70, by nine strokes heading into today’s final round.

Meanwhile, Madison Edgewood, winner of 10 state titles in 11 years, rolled to a 30-stroke lead over Racine Prairie with a 318 round.

Ferrell, the Division 2 state runner-up last season, came to University Ridge focused on giving Danielson, the two-time defending champion, a run for the money.

By the time Ferrell left the scorer’s tent, she was determined not to make excuses for an ailing wrist that clearly hampers her game.

“I’m not going to make excuses,” she said. “I didn’t play my best today. I’m not going to say it’s because of my wrist. I am not like that.’’

Ferrell keeps a brave face, but Edgerton coach Steve Zartman knows his star player is hurting.

“I think it’s bugging her more than she lets on right now,” Zartman said. “She is not going to tell anybody that it is, but you can tell by looking at her that it is making an impact on her game right now.’’

Ferrell injured her wrist last month at the Cardinal/Spartan Invitational and re-aggravated it at the Janesville Parker Invitational, but was the medalist with a 3-under 69.

“She has not had a chance to work on her short game in three weeks,” Zartman said. “We haven’t been taking divots for a month now, and it showed.’’

Ferrell posted five bogies on the front nine and finished 4-over 40. She had to deal with hitting out of five sand traps, which didn’t help her ailing wrist.

Ferrell picked it up immediately on the back side, carding a birdie at 342-yard par-4 10th hole. She added a three straight pars and seemed in good spirits for the rest of the round.

“I got off to a rough start, but I couldn’t do anything about it,” Ferrell said. “After I made the birdie on 10, I said, ‘OK, there are a lot of birdie holes out here, and I can still come back and get this down to two over.’ And once it’s at two over, you feel you are in striking distance to get it back to even.”

Ferrell’s strategy faded as she bogeyed four of the last five holes.

“I just couldn’t make a putt, and that’s why I shot 79,” Ferrell said.

Today, Ferrell returns on a mission.

“I going to come back and prove that today was just not a good day,” Ferrell said. “I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I’m going to make it better.’’