Brown, Burklow share City/County lead through front nine

Central Catholic freshman Morgan Brown features a strong short game. Lafayette Jeff junior Lindsey Burklow counters with booming drives off the tee.

While the good friends’ golf games are quite different, the pair produced identical 3-over-par 39s Wednesday afternoon at the Battle Ground Golf Club and share the nine-hole lead at the five-school City/County Tournament.

Reigning champion Lafayette Jeff, which also got a 42 from sophomore Samantha Hatter, leads the team event with 173. Central Catholic is second at 189, followed by McCutcheon (190), West Lafayette (195) and Harrison (213).

Brown, 14, made quite a City/County first impression, playing the first seven holes at even par before making a double-bogey seven on No. 8 and a bogey five on No. 9.

Burklow, 17, rolled in a 40-foot putt to save par on No. 1 and narrowly missed a hole-in-one on No. 4 when her tee shot rolled just past the cup. She tapped in for birdie.

The teams will play Battle Ground’s back nine today in preparation for Saturday’s Lafayette Sectional, which also is set for Battle Ground.

Brown certainly didn’t play like a 14-year-old on Wednesday, using solid chips to set up short par putts.

“I’m glad that I’m off to a good start for (Thursday) so that I will have a chance,” Brown said. “But I definitely left a couple of shots out there at the end. It could have been worse. It’s all right.”

Just all right for Brown would be an excellent round for many high school golfers.

“Usually, putting is a big part of my game,” Brown said. “If I’m having a bad short-game day, it’s definitely going to add on more strokes.”

Burklow has caught the eye of some college coaches with her length off the tee, but she didn’t begin to score well until working to improve her short game. Burklow is a third-year varsity starter and the younger sister of Kate Burklow, a former Broncho standout who now is a member of the DePauw University golf team.

“I’ve been trying to fix my pitch shots, because that’s how far away I am after I hit my driver,” Lindsey Burklow said. “I need to get those pitch shots closer to the hole so I can putt better. I’ve also been working on my putting.

“Lately, I’ve spent less time on the driving range and more time on the chipping and putting green. I’m really excited with the progress. I can’t wait until next year to see how much more I improve over the summer. I’ve improved a lot from last year. Now, it’s all coming together.”

Burklow looks forward to a final-round duel with Brown.

“She is really good and is one of my close friends,” Burklow said. “I’ve had an eye on her because I know it’s going to be a good competition.”

McCutcheon’s Morgan Harris and West Lafayette’s Rachel Ho each shot 42 on Wednesday, and along with Hatter, will hope to make a move toward the top if either Brown or Burklow falter.