ATLANTA –– Second-round leader Rachel Dai of Suwanee carded a two-over-par 74 and held off a charge from fellow 14-year-old Michaela Owen of Suwanee to win the 32nd annual Georgia Girls’ Championship, which took place at Piedmont Driving Club, June 20-22. Dai finished at two-under 214 for the Championship, while Owen moved into the runner-up slot, five shots back at 219. Dai began the day with a six-stroke lead over 15-year-old So Jeong Lee of Duluth and a seven-shot advantage over Owen. Dai, Lee and Owen formed the final pairing of the round. Owen started off strong, firing three birdies on the first three holes, and Dai’s lead was quickly reduced to two strokes as she posted bogeys on holes 2 and 3. That was as close as it would get, however, as Dai settled down with a birdie on the par-3 seventh. Owen turned at 3-under, but went 3-over on the back nine to finish with an even 72 and pass Lee, who carded a final-round 76, for runner-up honors. Lee finished third overall (222). Sloan Shanahan of Suwanee rebounded from an opening 81 to shoot 71-72 in the second and third rounds and finish fourth (224). Rinko Mitsunaga of Roswell, 14, carded 78 to finish fifth (225). Championship Flight B winner Bailey Tardy of Norcross and Championship Flight C winner Megan Sabol of Martinez tied for sixth overall at 226. Janet Jianing Mao of Johns Creek was eighth at 228, while three players tied for ninth at 229, including Haley Austin of McDonough, Championship C competitor Elizabeth Kim of Martinez, and Championship B competitor Brittany Jarrett of Tifton. The top four finishers – Dai, Owen, Lee and Shanahan – have been invited to represent Georgia in the sixth annual Georgia-South Carolina Girls’ Junior Challenge Match, a match-play team competition between the two states. This year’s event takes place August 6-7 at Harbor Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island, S.C. Dai (2010) and Shanahan (2009) will each be competing in this event for the second time. A total of 47 players (those with a handicap index of 14.4 or lower) competed in the Championship Division for the overall title and were divided into four flights – A through D. The Championship flights played the course at 5,915 yards and a par 72. In addition to the other flight winners already mentioned, Hannah Mae Deems of Taylorsville took top honors in Championship D (239).
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