Kness, Waller advance
GIBSONIA – It might be hard to find a more competitive set of sisters than Lauren and Taylor Waller.
Put them on a golf course and keep your head down. The shots will be flying and desire to win unstoppable.
Had it not been for that competitiveness, the two might not be as talented, or successful, as they are today.
And if Lauren had not given little sister Taylor some good advice, the latter might not be playing in the PIAA Class AAA West Region finals.
“She taught me to never give up,” said Taylor Waller. “She said if you have a bad hole, don’t let it get to your head. It was that way for me after the third hole.”
A double-bogey 6 on the par-4 first and a triple-bogey 7 on the third shook the junior from Canon-McMillan. But remembering what her sister said, Taylor Waller played the remaining 15 holes at just 3-over par and finished fourth in the WPIAL Class AAA Golf Championships at Treesdale Country Club in Gibsonia on a crystal clear Wednesday afternoon.
Caroline Wrigley of North Allegheny won the championship with a 3-over 75 over the 4,952-yard course that wound its way between residential homes and strategically placed water.
Peters Township senior Mia Kness finished in second place, a stroke back, and three ahead of Lauren Freyvogel of Pine-Richland. Wrigley led throughout but a double-bogey 5 on the par-3 18th brought her closer to the field.
The top seven in Class AAA advanced to the regional at Tom’s Run Golf Course in Blairsville. The top eight advanced in the Class AA event, won by Kiaria Porter of Central Valley, who finished with a 6-over 78 . No local golfers competed in that event.
Waller’s score of 9-over 81 put her in fourth place, one better than Danae Rugola of Uniontown. She could have let the poor start affect her but didn’t.
“I was just trying to keep in mind that there was a lot of golf left,” said Taylor Waller. “My sister was right. But I’m not going to tell her that.”
Waller’s little joke even made her smile. Lauren Waller had been texting their mother, Anne, throughout the day to keep track of her scores. Lauren is a sophomore at Penn State University, where she is on the golf team and playing well. She won this event twice and finished second, third and third in her final three state tournaments.
“We play together in the summer, mostly at Southpointe,” said Taylor Waller. “I beat her once in a while but mostly she beats me. It’s not by a lot, only a couple strokes.”
Anne Waller thinks the rivalry between her daughters has had a positive effect.
“I think it probably fuels her to be as good or better than Lauren,” said Anne Waller. “I think she also wants (Taylor) to play her own game, be her own person and do as well or better than Lauren has. They are very supportive of each other. When Lauren’s playing, (Taylor) is always texting me to see how well she is doing. Walking along the course (yesterday), I was trying to answer Lauren’s text of ‘Update. Update. Update.'”
Kness, who will attend Seton Hall University next year on a golf scholarship, made the turn at 1-over 36 and needed a strong back nine to catch Wrigley. But double-bogey 6s on No. 10 and 15 put her three back with three to play.
“I hit a couple bad shots and this is a tough course to do it on,” said Kness. “On 10, I hit it off the green and three-putted. On 15, I put it in the hazard. I settled down after that. I just told myself that the other girls were doing the same thing.”
Kness played the final three holes in 1-under to earn the silver medal. Kness dropped an 18-foot putt for a birdie on No. 17 and sent a tee shot on the tough par-3 18th, where only 11 of the field of 30 made par, to about 25 feet and two-putted.
“The front nine was tough but I played really well,” said Kness. “I got it in the fairway, hit the greens and made some putts.”
Kness’ teammate Brooke Hilden shot 89 and finished tied for 11th.
Two-time WPIAL and PIAA champion Olivia Zambruno of Greensburg Central Catholic and Madie Smithco of North Catholic tied for second place in Class AA. An 8 on the par-5 17 was devastating to her chances to win.