Fun finishes close second to county champ Arnold

LYNN HAVEN — Rutherford’s Brittany Garner dragged the sole of her left shoe across the ground, collecting Spanish moss in her laces.

A smiling Courtney Webb trailed close behind, the Mosley junior hopping on the strands of moss as it dangled in clumps from Garner’s foot. Arnold’s Kali deBerry stood nearby chuckling.

Minutes earlier they were rivals competing in the top flight of girls Thursday at the county girls golf championship at Panama Country Club. Once the scorecards were signed and submitted, however, the giggling and playful name-calling was under way.

“I like playing with them,” said Webb, who shot an 86 to edge deBerry by two strokes for first place. “If you put us together for too long, we’ll end up laughing. Eighteen holes is too much.”

Garner, who shot a 95 to lead the Rams, said the trio quickly developed a rapport this year. Girls golf squads at the county schools don’t travel as much as the boys teams, so they play each other often during the season.

“They’re friendly,” Garner said. “I call us a three-man wolfpack. … There’s a lot of laughing and joking, but it keeps the game fun.”

Nicknamed Ghandi by the other two in the group, deBerry took a Zen-like approach to her round, which didn’t include any birdies. She shot a 49 on the front nine and rebounded with a 39 on the back to make a run at Webb. Her score helped Arnold claim the team title with a final total off 443, seven strokes ahead of the Dolphins.

Webb has been the top player in the county all year — “She always wins,” deBerry said — but deBerry said she had the right mindset before her round to challenge Mosley’s best player.

“I came out with a positive attitude and played awful on the front nine,” said deBerry, who was 4-over just three holes into the round.

Webb carded three birdies during her round — she and deBerry snickered when Garner celebrated her only birdie on the 18th green — and she had three pars to keep her afloat.

Rutherford finished with a team score of 474.