Ohio Junior Girls Championship feels 'normal' to two-time winner Leila Raines of Galena

MARION - The 44th annual Ohio Junior Girls Championship at Marion Country Club offered more than just a trophy for the winner.

"At the end of the day when you are out on the golf course it’s about the only normal thing going on right now. I feel having that sense of normalcy is good," said Galena's Leila Raines, now a rare two-time winner of the oldest girls golf tournament in the state.

In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic where masks are common, hand sanitizer a requisite, social distancing a must and a lot of public events postponed or canceled, Monday and Tuesday seemed like old times for Raines and the field of 80 competitors.

"Having tournaments, I’m glad they can still put them on and we can still get out here and compete. It’s been good," Raines added.

Her young counterpart agreed. Only 12, Warren phenom Gianna Clemente, who finished second to the Michigan State-bound Raines, was also grateful for the chance to compete in uncertain times.

"I think it’s great that tournaments are coming back. Obviously there are restrictions, but it’s great that I can play events," she said.

It might have felt normal, but there were still strict guidelines used during the event organized by the Women's Ohio State Golf Association.

Players couldn't touch flag sticks and had to stay at least six feet apart. Due to the shotgun start for Tuesday's round for everyone, there was no practice time on the green or driving range beforehand to avoid large clusters of players. Five scoring tables were used to speed up the process and assure social distancing.

Trophy winners picked up their wares from the ground and there were no sanctioned group pictures following.

"It couldn’t have gone any better. And the weather couldn’t have been better. It’s the best weather we’ve ever had," tournament director Nancy Noble said, referencing thunderstorms that have plagued the event in recent years. "It’s amazing. With the social distancing, the kids cooperated. They weren’t allowed to hit balls or putt this morning, but we had them all spread out with cones and the kids did a good job of following instructions. Everything was great. The course was in great shape."

Raines was also in great shape over the two days, recording twin 70s to finish 4-under-par 140 and win by two strokes.

"It’s awesome," she said. "I had a pretty good summer so far and a tough loss last week so I’m bouncing back. Winning this tournament means a lot to me."

She won the 2018 event in a playoff with Upper Arlington's Emily Hummer, but had to miss last year's tourney due to a wrist injury. By dong it again in 2020, she becomes the first player in history to win the event twice, but in nonconsecutive years. She joins Shirley Trier of Akron (1986-87), Amy Langhais of Columbus Grove (1991-92), Jessica Belskis of Columbus (1994-95) and Kelsey Lindenschmidt of West Chester (2004-05) as the only two-time winners of the Ohio Junior Girls Championship.

To achieve it, Raines felt she was better at hitting fairways and greens on Monday, but still fired a 2-under-par round on Tuesday despite lipping out a few putts.

"Going in you always want to win," she said. "I was trying to hit it one shot at a time and focus on my own score and see what happens. I know there’s a lot of good girls and they can go low out here when there’s an opportunity to do that. It’s just trying to post a good score and see what happens."

She's used to high pressure situations. Raines was the Division I girls high school state runner-up in 2018 before playing with the Olentangy Berlin boys last fall and making a district appearance. She won more than 90 youth events in her career and verbally committed to the Spartans as a sophomore.

"There are a lot of great players out here, so being able to pull out the win is definitely huge, moving forward in my last few junior events before college," she said.

While Raines is headed for college, her closest competitor this week is headed for seventh grade. Clemente shot a 72 on Monday and followed it up with a 70 to card a 142.

"I was just trying to play the course," Clemente said. "Obviously there are three different divisions, but I was just trying to play the course and play my best.

"I love to win, but sometimes you don’t win. Leila is such a great player. She’s going to college in a few months if she can. I love to play with her."

Clemente made news last year when she became the third youngest player at age 11 to qualify for the U.S. Women's Amateur in Mississippi. She used her first appearance in Marion last year as a tune-up for that event, finishing sixth overall and winning the 13-and-younger class at the Ohio Junior Girls Championship.

"I’ve definitely improved a lot," Clemente said after finishing seven shots better than her inaugural run at MCC last year where she scored a 149. "I’ve been practicing a lot harder this year. Even though COVID kind of put a little block in that, it’s important to keep working. I think I’ve done a pretty good job. Obviously my tournaments were canceled for a little bit, but I think I’ve done a really good job of just working up to the big events."

New Albany's Anna Ritter and Kary Hollenbaugh were third and fourth overall with 143 and 144, while Canton's Madison Reemsnyder was fifth at 145. Rounding out the top 10 were Ashland's Anna Watson at 147, Fremont's Kyleigh Dull and Grove City's Lizzie Saur at 148 and Westlake's Cara Heisterkamp and Lima's Mary Kelly Mulcahy at 149.

Heistercamp won the 14-to-15 age group with Isabella Goyette of Medina finishing second at 151 and New Albany's Anna Coccia finishing third at 159.

Because players can't double-up on trophies, Dublin's Angelina Gong earned first in the 13-and-under group with a 154 instead of Clemente, while Skylar Dean of Lewis Center was second at 161 and New Albany's Ceci Coccia was third at 200.

Locally, Pleasant's Dina Shah posted a 75-84 159, while teammate Maura Murphy shot a 97-94 191. Mount Gilead grad Mallory Graham carded an 86-85 171.

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