Campbell Knoth survived the ups and downs of her first state golf tournament and finished with a 14-over 86 in Monday’s first round at the Bowling Green Country Club. Rain and darkness suspended play with golfers still on the course meaning the Caldwell County senior will have to wait until play is completed Tuesday morning to see if she made the cut to the second round of the Leachman Buick-GMC-Cadillac/KHSAA State Tournament.
Knoth started strong with her first nine holes played on the back nine. She parred the first three holes and birdied the par-3 13th hole to move to 1-under. She stood at 2-over after eight holes before a triple-bogey eight ended her first nine holes with a 5-over 41.
She had three pars on the back nine but couldn’t record any birdies to take strokes off her score down the stretch. Knoth needed just 14 putts to complete the first nine holes and hit four of seven fairways. However, the story changed on the second nine where she had 20 putts and hit just two of seven fairways off the tee.
Knoth also hit some high caliber shots. She rolled in a 23-foot birdie putt on the par-3 13th hole. On the par-4 17th hole, she struck her second shot eight feet from the cup and rolled in the putt for her second birdie of the day.
Constantly in trouble off the tee, she was forced to take a drop on the par-4 sixth hole when her tee shot went left and found a dirt area with tree roots. She was able to get relief and knocked her second shot on the green where she two-putted for par.
She also managed to save par on the par-4 eighth hole when her tee shot went into the fairway bunker. She put her second shot on the green and again two-putted for par.
After Monday’s first round, Knoth must wait and see how many individuals who aren’t on teams advancing to the second day make the cut. She is hoping her score holds up so that she gets one final round of golf in her high school career.
