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Kinney falls one stroke short of title Birdie on 17th hole lifts North junior into 2nd CORVALLIS -- Tai Kinney made a dramatic move on the next-to-last hole of the Class 4A girls golf state championships Tuesday, but it left her one shot short in her bid for the crown. The North Medford junior, playing alongside defending state champion Allison Hanna of David Douglas for the second consecutive day, shot a 3-under-par 69 a Trysting Tree Golf Club. But Hanna, who entered the day tied with Rene Krause of St. Mary's and with a one-shot lead over Kinney, produced a 69 of her own for a 139 and the title. South Medford's Abby Fowler was tied for seventh after an opening round 75, but the junior shot 11 strokes higher on Tuesday and finished tied for 18th with a 161. Lakeridge won the team championship with a 638 score, while Grants Pass was fifth at 678 and the Panthers finished 11th with a 705. Johnna Nealy of Grants Pass, who was fifth entering the final round, finished seventh with a 148 total. As with the first round, Kinney knew that if she stayed close to Hanna, she'd be close to the top. A round of four birdies and one bogey had her crowding the Scot star for much of the day. This despite a stiff wind that made scoring more difficult than the day before. "I figured I had a shot," said Kinney, who finished eighth at state as a freshman and sixth last year. "I knew I had to play well, do something under par. I was pleased with the round I played. On some of the easier holes, I made birdie. And on the some of the harder ones, I had to dig down and make par." Three of the birdies came on the front side -- Nos. 4, 6 and 8 -- and only a bogey on No. 9 tarnished the nine. She went out in 2-under 34. The other birdie -- on the par-3 17th hole -- lent considerable drama to the proceedings. Standing on the tee box 138 yards form the hole and trailing Hanna by three shots, Kinney planted her ball nearly 30 feet above the hole, leaving a downhill, right-to-left breaker. "It just kept breaking, then it hit the left side of the cup, went all the way around and went in," said Kinney. "You don't expect to make those, but it's great when you do." Meanwhile, Hanna bogeyed the hole, leaving Kinney only one shot down with one hole left -- a 343-yard par 4 with a difficult, two-tiered green. Kinney's drive barely missed the fairway, and her second shot got her to within a step of the green. Hanna's drive put her in the rough behind a bush, but she hit a wonderful second shot to about 20 feet from the pin. "I was standing right behind the flag," said North Medford coach Tim Sam, "and I couldn't even see her." Kinney's chip came up 4 feet short, and she made the putt for par. Hanna lagged to within 2 feet and parred to win the tournament. Though she trailed by a stroke with one hole to play, Kinney wasn't thinking about a go-for-broke finish. "It's a long par 4 with the pin the back," she said. "I was figuring to just get it in the fairway. I wasn't really thinking birdie, just par." The driving trouble she had in the first round abated slightly by Tuesday. But it was her putting that surfaced as her savior. "I missed quite a few greens," she said. "Overall, my putting saved me on quite few holes where I made par." South's Fowler faltered with difficult wind conditions on the second day. The junior carded a round of 86. "She (Fowler) was very disappointed with the way she played Tuesday," said South Medford coach Lowell Masters. "She hoped to be in contention today." The Panthers also faded in the second day, shooting 27 strokes higher as a squad than in the opening round. "The kids came together as a team at district," said Masters, "and they carried that to state with the exception of the last round. TEAM SCORES -- Lakeridge 638, St . Mary's 642, Moun t ain View 648, Crescent Valley 661, Grants Pass 678, Bend 679, Central Catholic 696, Sprague 699, West Linn 702, Glencoe 703, South M e dford 705, Sam Barlow 707, Tualatin 714, Sheldon 724, Tigard 750, Wilson 758, South Eugene 760, Lincoln 811. INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (Top 10) -- 1, Allison Hanna, David Douglas, 70-69--139; 2, Tai Kinney, North Medford, 71-69--140; 3, Rene Krauss, St. Mary's, 70-75--145; 4, (tie) Sandy Kim, West Linn, 71-76--147, Kelly Ferris, West Albany, 73-74--147, Kailin Downs, Mountain View, 174; 7, Johnna Neal, Grants Pass, 73-75--148; 8, (tie) Tracy Hancock, Jesuit, 76-76--152, Kelley Groff, Sprague, 78-74--152; 10, Kristin Svicarovich, Glencoe, 76-77--153. 5, GRANTS PASS (678) -- 7, Johnna Nealy 73-75--148; 24, Danae Thomason 77-86--163; 53, Erin Schaefer 93-87--180; 67, Carly Wright 97-90--187; (89, Ally Codington 104-100--204. 11, SOUTH MEDFORD (705) -- 18, Abby Fowler 75-86--161; 43, Natalie Botsford 84-93--177; 48, Kacy Clark 87-92--179; 77, Sara Friend 93-101--194; (81, Kellie Thomas 103-95--198). Golf champions Class 4A Boys Team: Jesuit Medalist: Raun Atkinson, Grant Class 4A Girls Team: Lakeridge Medalist: Allison Hanna, David Douglas Class 3A Boys Team: Taft Medalist: Jayme Berkowitz, Brookings Class 3A/2A/1A Girls Team: Marist Medalist: Meredith Jones, Marist Class 2A/1A Boys Team: Enterprise Medalist: Jared Fry, McKenzie Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA