WOODLAND — It was getting close, but Reilly Whitlock did not know how close.
“No idea,” she said. “I hate that. I wanted to know, but I didn’t want to know. I felt I should just focus on my own game.”
That turned into the right approach.
Whitlock, a junior from Union, won her second consecutive Class 4A District 4 girls golf tournament, recording a birdie on the final hole of the two-day tournament to top teammate Taylor Hartley by two strokes.
Whitlock finished with a 4-over-par 150, scoring a 75 on both days. She made eight birdies in the tournament.
“I feel good about myself,” Whitlock said. “I heard I was up by a lot at one point. But I figured they could be wrong. So I just kept playing my game. You never know what could happen.”
Hartley, playing in the group in front of Whitlock was happening. She made three birdies and came home with a 2-under-par 36 on the final nine holes to close in on the lead.
“The front-nine kicked my butt,” Hartley said, referring to her 5-over 40. “I didn’t want to give up. I’m a Hartley. I don’t give up.”
Unbeknownst to Whitlock, her five-stroke lead over Hartley going into the final nine holes was down to one stroke when she teed up at the par-4 18th. She was thinking birdie all the way, but not just because it would help her win the championship.
“My coach (Gary Mills) made me a bet. He said if I go even on the last three holes, he would make me sheperd’s pie,” Whitlock said. “I wanted that birdie so I could get the pie.”
Mills said it was meant to motivate Whitlock. He wanted her to know it was getting close, that she better finish strong, but he did not want to tell her the score.
The plan worked, just like most plans associated with Union girls golf have worked through the years. The Titans won the team championship — their sixth district title in a row — after holding off the Camas Papermakers, who had four golfers finish in the top six.
Hailey Oster and Rio Smith tied for third with 158s, Elise Filuk took fifth with a 163, and Connie Wang was sixth at 165.
The top eight golfers at district earned berths to the Class 4A state tournament May 27-28 at Indian Canyon in Spokane. Abby Kadrmas of Mountain View (167) and Mackenzie Alamillo of Battle Ground (168) rounded out the final two spots to state.
Smith fired a 1-under 34 on the front nine Tuesday to gain two strokes on the lead, and Oster remained four shots behind Whitlock at the turn. Hartley, meanwhile, was five shots off the lead.
Then it got real close.
Whitlock found the fairway on her tee shot on 18. Her second shot was not exactly a thing of beauty, but it turned out just fine.
“It was a really bad shot. I just got really lucky,” she said.
A low shot hit in front of the green, got a couple hard bounces, kept rolling, then stopped six feet from the pin.
She sank the putt, securing the title and some pie.
“I’m really proud of Reilly. I was just hoping to win this year,” said Hartley, who finished second to Whitlock last season as a member of Battle Ground’s team.
After moving to Union, Hartley is now part of a team title.
“Such a strong team. We all support each other, we all motivate each other,” Hartley said. “We all say, ‘Hey, get your head out of your butt. You’re better than that.’ “
It works for Union.
