VIRGINIA BEACH – OCTOBER 9, 2012 Manchester junior Lyberty Anderson entered Tuesday’s final round of the Group AAA state golf tournament trailing Jason Park by one shot.
And after 17 holes at Red Wing Lake Golf Club, Park, a senior at James River, still held a one-shot lead heading to the par-5 No. 9.
But Anderson is no stranger to pressure. She won the VHSL girls state title as a freshman and three consecutive Richmond Women’s Golf Association city tournament titles.
Anderson reached the green in two shots and sank a 12-foot eagle putt to become the first girl to win the Group AAA tournament since Chantilly’s Jenny Suh in 2002.
“I was actually shaking a little bit,” Anderson said. “I was a little bit nervous and I wasn’t that confident over it, honestly.”
But when she saw the ball drop in the hole, she couldn’t hold back the excitement.
“I let out the biggest fist pump I’ve let out in a while. It was a good feeling.”
Mills Godwin made it a sweep for the Central Region, claiming the team title with a five-shot victory over Chantilly. The Eagles posted a two-day score of 592. Thomas Dale finished seventh with 619.
Anderson shot 7-under-par 137 for the two days of the tournament. Park finished with 138.
“(Winning the) girls state (title) was really cool because I was a freshman and it was all exciting,” Anderson said. “But I actually set a goal to come out here and try and win. And I did.”
Anderson played from the gold tees, a total of 1,052 yards shorter than the blue tees, where male golfers teed off. On No. 9, the distance for Anderson from tee to hole was 482 yards. For Park, who made par, it was 551.
“Everybody has an equal advantage out here,” she said. “It’s not just the fact that I get 1,000 yards less. The conditions are the same for everybody. The golf course is the same for everybody.”
Not only was Anderson proud of herself, but she said she was proud of the Central Region and how it was represented. Mills Godwin coach Tom Hoy agreed.
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