I-A GOLF: Boulder City’s Potter starts strong on home course, takes first-round lead

BOULDER CITY — Some might deem playing on your home golf course in the state tournament an unfair advantage.

But if you ask Boulder City's Lani Potter, she might have preferred going somewhere other than the Boulder Creek Golf Club.

"People say that, but I usually don't do super well on this course," Potter said.

The sophomore, however, made it work on a breezy Wednesday afternoon.

Potter shot 2-over-par 74 in the first round of the Division I-A state tournament at the Eagles' home course and holds a one-stroke lead over Clark senior Grace Kang heading into Thursday's final round.

"I did relatively well," Potter said. "My ball striking was good. I just need to hit some putts because that's what I'll need to work on tomorrow. If that's strong and everything else is the same, I'll do really well."

Potter, who finished 10th at state last season, wanted to come out strong on the first day to grab momentum. She shot par 36 on the front nine after birdieing holes 2 and 9 and bogeying two par 4s (Nos. 5 and 7).

"I was feeling good," Potter said. "Whenever I got a bogey, I knew I had the capability of getting a birdie right after so I wasn't worried. … My goal this year is to win. Not just improve because I didn't do well last year. So I knew I was going to improve."

Potter and Kang were the only two golfers to shoot par or better on the front nine on an afternoon where winds reached up to 15 miles per hour.

Potter choose not to blame the wind, though. She felt her putting could have been better, specifically on the last two holes, where no golfer ended with a birdie.

"The (holes) don't really intimidate me," Potter said. "It was just two bad putts."

Faith Lutheran, which is seeking its fourth consecutive state title, leads the field after shooting 324. Clark and Lowry are tied for second at 394, followed by Elko (406), Spring Creek (438) and Boulder City (439).

Kang, who was 3-under after 16 holes, was one of many golfers who struggled on the final two holes on the Desert Hawk side. She triple-bogeyed both holes to finish the day in second place at 3-over.

"I had a solid front nine," Kang said. "I've never shot under on a front nine in a tournament round, let alone state. So I was happy about that, but it was just the last two holes. I wish I could have finished stronger."

Kang birdied three of the first four holes on the day and was 2-under at the turn. She nearly ran away with it after sinking an eagle on hole No. 11, but she ended up bogeying Nos. 12 and 14 before five-putting No. 17.

Two of her misses on No. 17 were within a couple feet.

"The first (putt) was uphill and I thought I had it, but I hit it too hard and it went to the other side," Kang said. "The putt after that was a downhill, so I was kind of mentally unstable at that point."

Faith Lutheran's Morgan Goldstein (77) and Fernley's Brittany Evans (77) are tied for third place. Faith Lutheran's Sydney Smith (79) rounded out the top five golfers. Thursday's second round begins at 9 a.m.

Contact reporter Ashton Ferguson at aferguson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0430. Follow him on Twitter: @af_ferguson.