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Macy Pate – remember the name.

The American teenager carded a stunning 14-UNDER 57 to win a major high school competition in North Carolina yesterday.

Pate, the top ranked junior girl golfer in the state, birdied 14 of 18 holes at Bermuda West Run to claim the Central Piedmont 4-A Conference Championship at a canter, setting a slew of new records in the process.

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She clipped four shots off the previous North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s previous 18-hole record, whilst her 57 is also the lowest round for girls and boys in NCHSAA history.

Starting her round on the seventh, Pate birdied three of the first four holes. A short birdie putt on her 16th hole of the day left her knowing that a par-par finish would see her home in 59. Instead, she birdied her final two holes for a truly incredible round.

“I just kept hitting my wedge shots really close, and my putter was hot, so it was a great combination,” she told the Winston-Salem Journal.

“My dad was texting Brad [Leubchow, her swing coach] with my scores and how low I was going and he was like, ‘If this is an April’s Fool joke then it’s not funny at all.

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“It’s really hard to describe what was going on. I just sort of hit the shots and tried to make the putts when I had chances.”

Pate finished seven shots ahead of her high school teammate Morgan Ketchum, with another Reagan High golfer, Anna Howerton, a further five shots adrift.


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Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor

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