HOT SPRINGS VILLAGE -- Sarah Wright gave Taylor Loeb a glimpse of what she can expect at Henderson State.
Fayetteville's Wright, an incoming Henderson junior, displayed a steady approach while Reddie signee Loeb, of Maumelle was overcome by mistakes, leading to last-seeded Wright's 5-and-3 triumph over the top seed, in the championship match of the Arkansas State Golf Association Women's Match Play Friday at DeSoto Golf Course.
"I was actually a bit nervous playing with Taylor," Wright said. "I was excited and a little bit nervous just because I didn't want to let Henderson down. I wanted to set a good standard for it, and that's what I wanted to show Taylor. I was able to do that, and playing with her and watching her play, I know she is going to be a great asset for her team."
After shooting 85 in Tuesday's stroke qualifier, Wright put together a run worthy of a champion. She knocked off reigning champ Heather Wall, of Lake Village in 19 holes in the opener and 2014 champ Libby Croom, of Russellville, 6 and 5 in the semifinals before comfortably beating the No. 1 seed.
"Coming from the seventh seed and going to the first seed, that's pretty awesome," Wright said. "I can never think of any tournament where I have done that. My golf game has improved a lot coming into this tournament. I'm glad it showed."
Loeb, recently graduated from Mount St. Mary Academy, where she won the 2013 Class 7A championship, showed the nerves of being in her first adult tournament, allowing Wright to lead wire-to-wire. Loeb started with a three-putt bogey before needing two shots to get out of greenside bunker on No. 2, giving Wright a quick two-hole advantage.
Wright gave one back with a bogey on No. 3 but quickly returned to 2-up with a chip-in birdie on the par-3 fourth.
"When I make a mistake, it's just over my shoulder," Wright said. "I have so many holes, and I have the next hole to make it up. And that's what I was trying to do the whole time."
Loeb had birdie and par putts lip out on the next hole, where Wright made bogey. Loeb then got one back on the sixth after Wright had to take her third shot from the creek bank right of the green.
Each took their lumps on No. 7, the course's No. 1 handicap, before Wright perfectly played the par-5 eighth for a birdie to re-establish her two-hole lead.
"Those birdies helped me get that lead or help me get my lead back," Wright said. "They helped get 2-up. Birdies are always helpful. There's never a bad time for them."
After the duo made the turn 2-up, Loeb pulled one back after Wright bogeyed 10. But Wright won four of her final five holes, Loeb finishing with four bogeys and a double bogey.
When the match ended, Loeb was 10 over par and Wright was 4 over. The latter capped her consistent round with a sand save, her bunker shot escaping a high lip and landing within two feet of the cup.
"When I was in the bunker, I told myself, 'You know you love the bunker. Just accept it and execute what you want to see," Wright said. "And I did what I wanted to do, put it right next to the hole."
Bismarck's Carrie Hall also overcame her poor qualifying score to win her third senior title since she became eligible. Hall caught fire on the back nine, dispatching Hot Springs Village opponent Sandra Smit after only 1-up at the turn.
"I was pretty nervous because we had some really good players out there," said Hall, winning for the first time away from her home Hot Springs Country Club. "I was very unsure about yardages (during qualifying), but once I figured them out, I got them. I made really good notes and then just stuck with my plan."
Hall overcame three HSV players to keep her crystalware, defeating medalist Donna Wahle 5 and 4 and Katie Speir 3 and 2.
"Everybody I played were really good players, and they're all from here," Hall said. "Fortunately, I'm really good friends with all of them, so they were all friendly matches. It was just a game of who could keep it in play."
Keeping it on the fairway took on extra importance Friday because the rough featured plenty of downed foliage from Thursday evening's high-wind thunderstorm. The final round was delayed for more than an hour by rain, discouraging two of the seven matches from taking place.
Arkansas State Golf Association
Women's Match Play Championship
Hot Springs Village
DeSoto Golf Course
Finals
Championship division
Sarah Wright, Fayetteville (85) def. Taylor Loeb, Maumelle (73), 5 and 3
Senior division
First flight
Carrie Hall, Bismarck (83) def. Sandra Smit, HSV (75), 5 and 4
Consolation
Catherine Walsh, HSV (75) def. Paula Moore, Star City (77), 4 and 3
Second flight
Mattie Seward, Searcy (89) def. Kathy Bay, Sherwood (86), 6 and 5
Consolation
Cassandra Groh, HSV (85) def. Jo Ann Arnold, HSV (87), forf.
Third flight
Nancy Melton, Jonesboro (96) halved with Jo-Ann Dobscha, HSV (94)
Consolation
Gayle Bowman, Little Rock (95) def. Beth Mason, Little Rock (91), 4 and 3
Sports on 07/16/2016