Lady Titans finish strong behind reigning Class 7A champions
Lake Oconee Academy’s Lili Nelson recently overcame adversity and pulled off an incredible feat on the golf course.
The Lady Titans’ sophomore golfer defeated Lambert High School’s Athena Yoo, the reigning girls’ PGA national champion and GHSA Class 7A girls’ winner, in a head-to-head battle by one stroke to place first overall.
LOA girls’ golf coach Alan Dodds was proud of how Nelson performed under immense pressure against Yoo.
“You can’t just help but smile for her,” Dodds said. “This is her first year on the team. She’s done well for us.”
Nelson shot a 74 on day one of the Georgia PGA/GSGA High School Preview tournament, held at Harbor Club in Greensboro. She led by one stroke, but a rough patch on the second day allowed Yoo to retake the lead.
At the start of day two, a pair of back-to-back double bogeys put Nelson back four strokes, but she didn’t give up.
Nelson started to dig her way out of the hole and began to chip away at the deficit. She shot a four-under-par on the last 16 holes, ending day two with a 72 and a one-stroke win over Yoo with a total of 146.
Nelson’s accomplishment didn’t come easy, and she battled back to pull off the incredible upset.
Nelson told the Lake Oconee News her determination to win was a driving factor in her epic comeback last week.
“Athena is a great player, and I knew she wasn’t going to make many mistakes, so I had to play well to win,” Nelson explained. “I was inspired to go out and do my best. I ended up fighting back to come out on top.”
Despite Nelson’s win over Yoo, Lambert edged Lake Oconee Academy by two strokes to place first in the team category. The Lady Titans fought hard and gave the reigning Class 7A champions a close battle until the end.
Other LOA golfers, including Georgia Bosart, Kensley Windham, and Lily Dominy, performed well at Harbor Club. As a team, the Lady Titans shot a total of 305, while the Lady Longhorns finished with a score of 303.
Nelson has played golf her entire life, but this is the first time she’s played the sport on a team. She said it’s a different dynamic than playing individually because she relies on her teammates but they also depend on her.
Nelson acknowledged she’s bought into the team aspect and enjoys playing with her fellow Lady Titans.
“I love playing with those girls so much,” Nelson said. “It’s awesome to see everyone come together and be able to play for something a little bit more than ourselves. I know it’s just high school golf, but we feel like we play well as a team, even though golf is an individual sport. Lambert is a powerhouse. They have four or five girls that play well outside of high school golf, but we have some quality girls as well.”
Dodds enjoys having Nelson on the team and knows she’s adjusted well to playing with others.
“I knew who Lili was beforehand because I follow junior golf pretty closely, but after spending some time with her, I found out she’s a very likable young lady,” Dodds said. “She cares about her teammates and is very encouraging. And she’s picked up the team aspect very quickly. I was just thrilled for her to get the win.”