Seniors Reinke, Warner boost Legion Collegiate Academy girls’ golf in Year 2

The Legion Collegiate Lancers are off to a good start in the 2020 girls’ golf campaign in their second year of the program.

A year ago, coach Kim Case’s team played as an at-large team, and when the state playoffs came around, the group qualified and wound up with a seventh place overall finish in the 3A-2A-1A category at the state tournament.

This time around, the Lancers are in a region with three others teams. The competition in the region comes from Cheraw, Chesterfield and North Central. Three of the four will advance to the playoffs after the region tournament.

“We are not playing a region schedule in the regular season,” Case told The Herald. “Our focus here is to prepare the golfers for the collegiate level. Playing nine hole events does not do that. However, we will participate in the region tournament because it is an 18-hole event.”

Case lined up some quality tournaments for her team this season: Legion opened with a sixth place finish in the 12-team field at the Palmetto Preview at the Mid Carolina Country Club. The team followed that by winning The Jack Tournament in Seneca for the second straight season.

“These one-day, 18-hole events are what we need to prepare our players for the next level,” added Case. “We have done very well overall against some outstanding competition from all classifications in the state.”

Legion Collegiate’s improvement from Year 1 to Year 2

Case has nine players on this year’s team, and she can already see that this year’s team is ahead of last year’s edition.

“Right now, we are nine to 10 strokes better as a team than last year,” added Case. ‘We are getting better with each practice and tournament. I am very pleased with our progress to date.”

The Lancers’ No. 1 player is senior Buggy Reinke, who finished sixth overall last year in the state tournament.

“Having her at the top of our roster means a lot for our team,” said Case. ”She plays a very consistent game. She has had great success in the past, and she is getting better every day.”

Senior Katie Warner, who was 18th overall last year in the state tournament, is the No. 2 performer this time around. Junior Reagan Hughes is in the third spot with freshman Teryn Dalton playing the fourth spot.

“Those four have been very consistent,” said Case. “All four of them were able to play some in the spring and over the summer despite the virus. They are coming along very well.”

The veteran coach added that her five through nine players are all about the same when it comes to strokes in a round.

“Any one of those five players could be plugged into the fifth spot in a tournament,” she said. “They are consistently working to improve their game.”

Juniors Sarah Thomas and Kate Elkins, sophomores Peyton Murray and Cameron Michaels, and freshman Margaret Olson complete the roster. Olson is injured at present, but Case is hoping she will be ready to play in the near future.

How Coach Case runs practice

Case splits up her top three players at practice. She puts each one in a group with two other players and rotates the groups with each new practice.

“That way these three players can help the other players with their games, the rules, and how to approach certain situations,” said Case. “They are all very good at helping the other players on the team.”

The Lancers rotate the routine at practice. Some days they play nine holes. Other days find them working on fundamentals, while others offer tournament-like conditions.

“That gives us a chance to work on everything,” she added. “It makes every practice different.”

The Lancers still have three more events to compete in as a team before the region tournament and the playoffs. They will play in the Lady Rebel at Byrnes, the Lady Patriot at Powdersville, and the Pink Tournament at Newberry prior to the region event.

Case, who had some outstanding teams at South Pointe before going to Legion Collegiate, likes this year’s team.

“We just need to keep working and stay focused,” she said. “We are better than we were a year ago, and we have room to grow.”