KETTERING – Jodie Han knew she had handily won the Division I girls golf state championship, but what she did not immediately know ultimately meant more to the Olentangy junior.
Han followed up her 6-under-par
64 performance in the first round Oct. 12 with a 65 on the final day Oct. 13 at NCR Country Club’s North Course, winning her first individual title by 11 shots and smashing the previous two-day state tournament record of 136 by seven.
“Honestly that means more to me than winning,” Han said. “Winning state is just for one year. Setting a record like that [by shooting 129] is for years to come.”
New Albany’s Mia Hammond shot 136 to win the 2023 tournament.
Han dominated despite feeling under the weather with what she described as a cold and “low-grade fever.”
Eleven of her 21 pars for the tournament came Oct. 13, as did six of her 13 birdies. Han had one bogey each day.
Pepper Pike Orange senior Anuja Patel was second (140), and Olentangy Orange sophomore Amelia Buettner came in third (140) in her state debut.
“I told my mom the winning score here would be double-digits under par, so I am just glad I was able to do that,” Han said. “I could go lower. If I look at my game, I wasn’t that dialed in with my driver or approach shots. But everything this week worked out well.”
Han’s approach was “methodical,” Olentangy coach Micah Conley said.
“I think people were expecting her to perform well and shoot a low number,” Conley said. “It’s one thing to have those expectations on you and another to go out over the course of two days and perform the way she did. She really had to grind mentally to get through the two rounds. This course is challenging. You have to be precise.”
Junior Nikitha Suresh tied for seventh with a 145, including a 71 in the final round, to lead defending state champion Dublin Jerome to second place (606) by 13 shots behind Rocky River Magnificat for the second time in three years.
All four Jerome scorers dropped shots from the first day to the second.
Junior Adella Pawlowski cut nine, finishing with a 74 on Oct. 13 and a 157 overall to place 26th.
Junior Mallory Quickel (tied for 15th, 151) and sophomore Maya Faustino (tied for 28th, 159) rounded out Jerome’s scoring.
Suresh said the team put in extra work, staying until after NCR’s range and putting green closed Oct. 12.
“We put up a strong fight,” she said. “When you’re playing with very good golfers, it takes some stress off your back. When you are playing for other people, it’s a different kind of pressure.”
Jerome split eight meetings this season with Magnificat, last year’s state runner-up, and trailed the Blue Streaks by nine shots after the first round.
“They know that on three holes [Oct. 12], they lost a little focus but the damage was done,” Celtics coach CD Butcher said. “But today, they knew they couldn’t worry about what other people were doing. Control what you can. We simply lost to a better team.”
Orange surged from fifth place after the first round to third (623), led by Buettner’s 69 on the final day. She had 10 birdies and four pars.
“I told the girls, if you came in with notes and that stressed you out, rip your notes out. Just have fun. That paid off,” Pioneers coach Todd Helline said. “My realistic expectation was coming here and getting third place.
“On paper, Magnificat and Jerome are the two best teams in the state. Could we beat them on any day? Sure, but I think we are the third-best team in the state.”
Buettner was followed by junior Ellie Bach (tied for 28th, 159), sophomore Amelia Ricker (tied for 32nd, 160) and freshman Olivia Huffman (36th, 163).
Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit was fourth (628), followed by Toledo St. Ursula (631), Liberty Township Lakota East (644), Cincinnati Sycamore (654), Canfield (669), North Canton Hoover (672), Cincinnati Anderson (691), Sylvania Northview (698) and Minerva (713).
Upper Arlington sophomore Eva Emerson tied for 22nd (155) in her state debut, shooting a 79 in the final round.
High school sports reporter Dave Purpura can be reached at dpurpura@dispatch.com and at @dp_dispatch on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Olentangy's Jodie Han wins OHSAA golf title in record-setting fashion
