SUNRISE REGION: Kaui learns from mistake, wins Sunrise Region title

Green Valley’s Alex Kaui was hoping she didn’t repeat a mistake.

The first time she played the second hole at Legacy in the Sunrise Region tournament, she tore up a chunk on the tee shot before salvaging par on the short par-3.

This time, the Gators sophomore faced the same shot on the second hole of a playoff tiebreaker with teammate Jenny Hahn, who nearly drove the green on the 358-yard first hole.

“I told myself, 'just hit it solid.’ That’s all I concentrated on,” Kaui said of the tee shot. “As soon as I hit it, I thought it was pretty good. Then I heard my team scream, and I hoped it was really good.”

Kaui nailed the wedge shot off the tee 149 yards to within a foot of the obstructed pin en route to an easy tap-in birdie, and Hahn’s long birdie putt stopped inches from the cup to give Kaui her second Sunrise Region individual championship.

“We always expect that, because they’re the top two kids in the state of Nevada,” Green Valley coach Greg Murphy said of watching his top two golfers tied after 18 holes. “We always expect something like that could happen. To have it happen, it’s one of those feelings that you just can’t describe.

“They’re both phenomenal players, and you expect the best out of them all the time.”

Just as exciting for Kaui was Green Valley’s team score of 314, which topped second-place Coronado by 40 strokes to claim the team title.

Both teams advanced to the state meet Monday at Hidden Valley in Reno.

“It’s the best thing you can have,” said Kaui, who also won last year’s Sunrise title. “It would kind of suck if your whole team tried their hardest, didn’t do as well as you did, and you got a title and they didn’t.”

Kaui fired three birdies with only one bogey, while Hahn challenged in the playoff despite shooting two bogeys.

Coronado’s Melanie Chambers birdied three of the last four holes, including a chip-in on No. 18, to earn a spot in the playoff. But a three-putt on the first playoff hole dropped her to second place, after a scorecard tiebreaker based on the final nine holes propelled Chambers (33) past Hahn (35).

“They’re never satisfied,” Murphy said of his Green Valley team. “I can tell them they’ve done a great job, and they just look at me crazy. It’s their expectations, along with some of our expectations. They should be pleased with some of their rounds more than they are.

“That’s the joy of coaching these girls — they’re never satisfied, whether they shoot 6-under or 2-under. When you have that in an athlete, you’ve got something special.”

Silverado’s Brittany Whatley shot 76 for fourth place, and Basic’s Jamie Donizio was fifth with 78. Both qualified for state along with Canyon Springs’ Taylor Candley (83), Eldorado’s Angie Pitaksarp (84) and Tech’s Hilary Pauli (89).