ST. SIMONS ISLAND – Hailey Han of Duluth erased a four-shot deficit in the final round on her way to capturing the her second Georgia Girls' Championship! The 45th playing of the championship took place June 17-19 at Sea Island Golf Club - Retreat Course.
Han, the 2021 Girls' Champion, began the final round four shots back of two-time defending champion Mary Miller of Savannah (70-71-73). An early bogey on the par-4 3rd was the only hiccup Han would face all day.
Back-to-back birdies followed on the next two holes allowing Han to close the gap by two, and another birdie on the par-5 8th put her just one back heading into the back nine.
Han caught fire over the first five holes on the back nine knocking in birdie putts on No. 10 and back-to-back on No. 13-14 to go from one back to three shots clear of the field just like that.
Miller did not go away however as birdies on No. 15 and No. 17 put her one shot back going to the final hole of the championship. Han did not blink as she found the fairway off the tee and gave herself a solid birdie opportunity forcing Miller to need birdie to have a chance. Miller's long birdie look raced by the hole giving Han a chance to two-putt for the victory.
A miss on the comeback putt for Miller meant Han could two-putt for the win. She knocked in her short par attempt to claim the comeback victory and her second win at the Georgia Girls' Championship finishing at 4-under-par (72-73-67).
For Han, the victory also came with an exemption into the U.S. Girls' Junior Championship in July and a spot representing the Peach State in the Georgia-South Carolina Girls' Junior Challenge Match on Aug. 3-4 at King and Prince Golf Course in St. Simons Island.
Molly Spector of Atlanta (74-71-70), Georgia Blount of St. Marys (74-77-67), Emerson Elm of Milton (74-74-74) and Kallyn Black of Greensboro (74-76-73) rounded out the top six that earned a chance to represent Team Georgia this summer against South Carolina. Kathryn DeLoach of Athens (72-78-74) will serve as an alternate if one of the top six players cannot play.
For full results and photos from the championship, please click the appropriate blue buttons below!
We also want to extend a special thank you to our friends at Turtleson for supporting the Georgia Girls' Championship!