The Cape Elizabeth golfer had salvaged par on the par-five final hole. That wasn’t without complications. Still, when she arrived at the scorer’s table, she wasn’t sure whether she had won or lost.

“I was surprised,” Schonewolf said after she learned of her victory. “I had to keep my head in it. I thought, to be honest, that putt I had on that green, was to tie Stephanie (Rodrigue).”

Schonewolf finished with an 80, giving her a two-round total of 159. That edged Lewiston’s Rodrigue by one stroke. Rodrigue matched her 80 from the opening round and finished at 160.

“ I was definitely nervous,” Schonewolf said. “Stephanie played great for two days. She was amazing. She was hitting it awesome.”

Rodrigue had double-bogeyed 16 and bogeyed the 17th hole but had a chance at a birdie putt on the final green. It rolled just wide. Rodrigued finished fourth overall last year in the 13-14 group won by Schonewolf.

“I thought I hit it pretty well today,” Rodrigue said. “I tried my hardest. I brought my A-game. I guess it wasn’t enough. There’s always next year.”

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Erin Holmes finished third in the flight with 162, shooting 75 after an 87 in the first round. Gray’s Janelle Bryant, a St. Dom’s sophomore, finished fourth at 182.

In the 13-14 group, Old Orchard Beach’s Jordan Laplume shot 83 to finish at 160 overall. Rachel Smith was second after a pair of 83’s for 166.

In the boys 15-17 flight, Cape Elizabeth’s Austin Legge found himself leading in the clubhouse after his second straight round of 75. The lead group still had to finish, but Legge’s few minutes of anxiety was worth the wait. His 150 held up for the win.

“It was pretty nerve-wracking because I really thought one of them would put up a low score,” Legge said. “Once I found out I was the leader in the clubhouse, that was really encouraging. I heard they weren’t playing all that great. So I thought I did have a chance, but I didn’t really know.”

Bangor’s Drew Powell finished second overall. After a 78 on Wednesday, he finished with a 73 for a total of 151. John Witt and Lucas Roop were third at 153. Roop shot the best round of the day with a one-under par 70. Nick Dugas rounded out the top five at 154. Rockland’s Nick Mazurek, who shot a 71 for the lead in the first round, shot 89 Thursday to finish at 160.

“I was just looking to go out and put up a low number,” Legge said. “I just wanted to play golf. I wasn’t worried too much about a specific score. I just wanted to go out and play my game and see what happens.”

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Legge was able to put together two consistent rounds, something many of his flight weren’t able to do. After a birdie to start, the 14-year old Cape freshman, playing up an age group, bogeyed six of the last seven holes on the front. On the back, he was steady with just one birdie and one bogey. The rest were all pars.

“Especially for the front nine, I didn’t think I was playing nearly as good as (Wednesday),” Legge said. “I had a rough start. I birdied the first hole, but I had a string of bogeys on the front nine. Then I just kept it consistent on the back nine. It just came together and I made a bench of pars.”

Playing in the next-to-last group. He realized his 150 put him in the lead, but he still had to wait for Thompson, Mazurek and Dugas to finish.

“I really thought one of those three, they’re all great golfers, would put up a low number and probably get it,” Legge said. “I was just hoping for the best.”

The top local golfer in that age group was Paris’s Mac Kim. After an 85 the first day, he shot 79 to finish at 164. Auburn’s Brendan Donovan had an 88 Thursday for a total of 172. Auburn’s AJ Parisi and Nicholas Gammaitoni finished at 179 and 210 respectively. Lisbon’s Adam White finished well with an 83. That put him at 183 for the tourney.

In the girls’ flight, Schonewolf had four bogeys and a double on the front nine, finishing at 41. She shot a 39 on the back finishing with two straight pars after four bogeys and a birdie.

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Rodrigue had double bogeys on two of her first three holes and then birdied her fourth hole. She parred the rest of the front for a 39. She had three bogeys on the back, including a double on her 16th hole and a bogey on her 17th.

“I really didn’t think I had a good front nine, but I did,” Rodrigue said.

With Rodrigue’s bogey on the 17th hole, Schonewolf had the narrow lead on the final hole, even though neither her or Rodrigue knew it at the time. Both just knew it was close. When Schonewolf’s approach to the green disappeared, her round was in jeopardy.

“I hit a good drive and I hit a five-iron,” Schonewolf said. “I go up and think that it was a perfect shot and that I hit it nice. Then I couldn’t find it anywhere.”

After the three players and a rules officials searched for a ball, Schonewolf took a penalty drop near the hazard to the left of the green. She chipped it on from there to set up a putt that saved par.

“I hadn’t been doing that all day,” Schonewolf said. “So that was really nice.”

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Rodrigue had put her approach on the green and had a possible birdie putt. It was about five feet and downhill. She narrowly missed it as it rolled to the left.

“I really wanted to make that birdie putt,” Rodrigue said.

The two golfers still didn’t know who had won as they left the course. Schonewolf told family that she thought they were either tied or that Rodrigue had won by a stroke. When the scores were submitted, Schonewolf had won by one.

“It was a good day though,” said Rodrigue, who finished 28 shots behind Schonewolf last year. “I was proud of myself. I wasn’t that far behind. It was one shot. There’s always room for improvement.”

In the 13-14 boys’, Topsham’s Caleb Manuel shot 74 to finish with 147. That beat Augusta’s Mitchell Tarri, who ended the tourney at 158. Lewiston’s Benjamin Gosselin shot 97 Thursday to finish at 196. Auburn’s Demetri Gammaitoni and Monmouth’s Trevor Flanagan finished at 204 and 223 respectively.

In the boys 12-under flight, Scarborough’s Ryan Stimson improved on his 38 with a final round 36 for a 74 total. Peter Malia was second at 81 followed by Teddy Forsley at 87.

kmills@sunjournal.com


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