Guyton finishes 2nd in state golf

Kaneland's Hayley Guyton made it all the way to a playoff before finishing second in the Class AA state championship. (Evan Davis – Shaw Suburban Media)

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CARBONDALE – Hayley Guyton's scorekeeper mentioned something to her first. Then several not-so-subtle spectators chimed in.

Guyton, a Kaneland senior, stood neck-and-neck with defending champion Kris Yoo of Conant for the IHSA Class AA Girls State Golf Tournament title with two holes to play and the golfers one group apart on Saturday afternoon.

"I don't know how I didn't get really nervous," Guyton said. "I was excited and focused the whole time down the stretch."

That resolve lasted even after Guyton bogeyed the first hole of a championship playoff, sending her par putt two feet past the hole after Yoo saved par with a downhill 15-footer. She left Hickory Ridge Family Golf Center with a second-place medal and plenty of optimism despite the outcome.

"To get come this far and do this well as a junior is something I could never think of or imagine," Guyton said. "But I played my heart out, and it was good."

Guyton credited her short game above all for a regulation round of 2-under par 70. She putted just 23 times, shaving five putts off her total from Friday's opening round, when she carded a 75.

Birdie putts of 10 feet on Nos. 8 and 17 and a 25-footer on the 13th gave Guyton a mastery of Hickory Ridge's offering of Par 3 holes. Guyton entered the day two strokes behind Yoo but found herself ahead by one after Yoo bogeyed Nos. 3 and 4.

Both players hit strong drives when the playoff cycled to the Par 4 first hole, matching each other again with poor approaches on their second shot. Guyton said her nerves kicked in slightly as she set up to finesse her third shot onto the green but were far behind once she gripped her shortstick.

"Hayley has a lot to be proud of today," Kaneland coach Mark Meyer said. ""It was really something else, coming down to the last putt."

Schultz second as well

Somonauk freshman Jessica Schultz led the Class A girls meet after Day 1 and finished the two-day meet tied for second place, just a stroke behind winner Tala Mumford of Massac County.

Johnson tied for 14th

DeKalb resident Timmy Johnson (Marmion) finished the Class 2A boys meet tied for 14th place with a two-day total of 157.

DeKalb High's Cody Schmitt was tied for 52nd at 169 while Mason Struthers was tied for 75th at 173.