Oct. 22—Emree Cameron shot six strokes over par on Day 1 of the Class 2 state championship at Fremont Hills Country Club in Nixa and was in third place after Monday.
The senior from Nevada High School trailed sophomore Morgan Nute of Wright City and Lisa Zhang of Mary Institute and Saint Louis Country Day School.
Cameron shot 77 in the first round, Nute 75 and Zhang 76.
Cameron shot a 2-under 69 to overcome the deficit and earn a three-stroke victory over Zhang on Tuesday.
“I struggled with putting (Day 1). My dad brought me an old putter that was a blade and it helped me. I was sinking putts today (Tuesday),” Cameron said. “I drove well. I was hitting fairways. I played it safe and played steady golf today. I knew that was all I needed to do.”
Her two-day total was 146 and Zhang’s was 149. Sara Kolar tied with Nute for third place with a total of 157. Zhang improved from 76 to 73 on Day 2 but Cameron’s round of 69 was still too much. Nute fell with an 82. Meanwhile, Kolar, of Maplewood-Richmond Heights, shot 78 and 79 in rounds 1 and 2, respectively.
That putter change for Cameron was from what she called a “mallet” putter that is a heavier design to the lighter style of putter she called a “blade.” She believed that change was necessary for her and even said it “saved” here as the blade putter was easier to control on the fast greens at Fremont Hills.
This makes two straight state titles for the Tiger. She earned the Class 3 championship last year by seven strokes.
“It’s unreal. I was down two strokes to start today and then was behind by four strokes. I was getting nervous,” Cameron said. “I had a bogey on hole No. 7 and I told myself I wouldn’t have any more of those. And I didn’t. That was my last bogey. I started sinking putts and dropped birdies and pars.”
Cameron went on to improve from that hole by three strokes as she scored only birdies and pars the rest of the day.
This is the two-time champion’s final competition before joining Louisville University’s women’s golf program next year.
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