Kasydie Shipp ended up languishing over her final par putt much longer than anticipated.
While waiting for her playing partners to play up to the green, Platte County’s junior playing No. 2 in the Pirate Invitational on Wednesday, Sept. 6 lined up her shot. She ended up just missing and settled for a bogey and a 10-over 81 at Shiloh Springs Golf Course.
ROSS MARTIN/Citizen photo
Platte County junior Kasydie Shipp retrieves her ball from the hole after a bogey at No. 17 on her final hole of the Pirate Invitational on Wednesday, Sept. 6 at Shiloh Springs Golf Course.
The best round of her career — and one of, if not the best rounds in program history — still held up as the winning score in the 12-team event.
“I was definitely trying to keep my head in the game because it was a lot of waiting,” Shipp said. “It was kind of like, ‘If I make this putt, it’s going to be a pretty good round. If I don’t, it’s still going to be great.’ I tried to stay focused, not get nervous and just hit the putt.”
Shipp started at No. 18 and played a steady first nine holes with four pars. Starting with No. 9, her closing stretch included a birdie on No. 11 but three straight bogeys to finish.
Despite the twinge of disappointment, Shipp finished four strokes in front of junior twin sister Jessalyn Shipp.
“It kind of did make me happy that I came in above her, but I’m still glad she shot pretty well,” Kasydie Shipp said after her first career tournament victory.
ROSS MARTIN/Citizen photo
Platte County junior Jessalyn Shipp watches her putt head toward the hole at No. 17 during the Pirate Invitational on Wednesday, Sept. 6 at Shiloh Springs Golf Course.
Platte County’s top two players have traded the low score for the team throughout the early season, often finishing within one stroke of each other. Jessalyn Shipp shot a 47 on the front nine, starting at No. 1, but then closed with a 4-over stretch that included five pars.
Jessalyn Shipp had birdie putts at both No. 17 and No. 18 but settled for a par and a three-putt bogey, unable to match her sister in this event.
“I feel like there’s a little bit of a rivalry,” Jessalyn Shipp said. “We don’t want to admit it as much, but I do think there’s a little, ‘Oh, I hope I do the one stroke better.’
“I just try to focus singly on my own round.”
While the sisters don’t seem to care who owns the title of No. 1 vs. No. 2 in the lineup, they continue to shine for Platte County, which finished third in the team standings. The Pirates posted their first sub-400 round of the season with a 391.
McKennah Houlahan (112, tied for 27th) and Abby White (113, 29th) rounded out Platte County’s team score.
“As our team continues throughout the season, I see scores getting lower,” Jessalyn Shipp said. “I think this is good not only for next year but the rest of this season.”
Park Hill South won the team title with a trio of medalists, shooting a season-best 368.
Annie McFee led the way with an 86 (tied for third), while Sadie Franklin shot a 90 to finish alone in fifth. The Panthers also had Madi Hill in a three-way tie for eighth and the final medalist spots, while Olivia Siebert missed that group by just two shots (11th, 97).
Park Hill South even competed without senior Kate Eischens, who has been a part of a set top five early in the season despite Franklin being the lone returner from a year ago.
“They’ve outperformed even from Day 1,” Park Hill South coach Tracy Mangels said. “We had a lot of holes, a lot of question marks, and the girls have exceeded our expectations.”
McFee made five pars on her round, while Franklin — a returning Class 2 Missouri State Golf Championships qualifier — finished with two pars plus a birdie on the short par-4 first hole.