Ferrell captures Sunset League title

What Grace Ferrell saw on her approach shot on the No. 4 hole at Skylinks Golf Course in Long Beach would probably cause most high school golfers to wither down the stretch. But the Newport Harbor High senior drew motivation from a nightmarish-type sequence and went on to capture her first Sunset League individual championship on Wednesday.

She was named league MVP for the third straight year and she showed her MVP skills after her 8 on the par-four No. 4.

It appeared she had a nice second shot from 120 yards away. It looked liked her ball was in position to land about three to five feet from the cup for an easy birdie, Ferrell and Newport Harbor Coach Scott Tarnow said. But suddenly the ball hit a sprinkler head just short of the green and that propelled the ball about 50 yards over the green and into a difficult position for Ferrell.

“It wasn’t the best break there,” Ferrell said. “It was kind of crazy.”

But the madness didn’t end there. Ferrell said she hit a hard shot back to the green, but was told her ball had hit her cart, resulting in a two-stroke penalty.

“I got the next shot and two-putted,” said Ferrell, bound for UC Irvine. “At the time I thought it was a 6. We went over and asked for the coaches and they told me it was a two-stroke penalty — it was an 8. You’d think momentum would’ve changed at that point, but it made me want to fight harder and get those strokes back for the next 14 holes I had left to play.”

Ferrell, who entered the Sunset League finals with a four-stroke lead after Monday’s nine holes, rebounded and finished strong on the back nine. She finished with four birdies, including two straight on the par-five No. 15 and the par-three No. 16.

Ferrell shot eight-over-par 80 to finish at six-over 114 and win by two strokes against Ella Poljak of Huntington Beach. Edison’s Pilar Hurtado finished third, three shots behind Ferrell.

“Having that break was really challenging,” Tarnow said. “For her to shake it off was incredible. She just never quit. That’s the way it goes for her. She basically said, ‘I don’t care and I’ll move forward. I’ll take the penalty and move on.’ To keep it together after something like that is one of the toughest things in golf.”

Tarnow said Ferrell is the second Newport Harbor girl to earn three straight league MVP awards, matching Natalie Draganza.

Of the 10 Sunset League matches this season, Ferrell finished as medalist in eight and co-medalist twice. Tarnow said he and the Sunset League coaches believe that has never been done in that league.

Tarnow also said Ferrell has medaled more than anyone in Newport Harbor history, “I think 40 times,” he said.

Ferrell will next compete in the CIF Southern Section Southern Individual Regional Tournament at Dad Miller Golf Course in Anaheim on Monday.

— Compiled by Steve Virgen