Jordyn Ruane and her coach, Jason Miller, consider accuracy off the tee to be the strength of her game.
It was the ability to overcome a tee shot that strayed off the fairway, however, that allowed her to have her best hole during Monday’s District 2 Individual Golf Championships at Elkview Country Club.
Ruane birdied the par-5 first, her sixth hole of the day, on the way to an 89 to grab the third and final Class 3A girls spot from the district for the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Championships.
The Pittston Area senior drove her tee shot into the right rough and was not pleased with her 5-iron shot from there.
Ruane, however, put a pitching wedge within 10 feet on her third shot and made the putt for her only birdie of the day.
“I just went in with a positive attitude and tried to keep my head in the game and not worry about a bad shot,” Ruane said.
Ruane managed to follow that game plan to finish third in the 13-player field, one shot ahead of Mady Pandolphi from Dallas for the last state spot.
North Pocono’s Gwen Powell won with a 76. Isabelle Ritz from Hazleton Area shot an 86 for second place.
The 89 gave Ruane what she said was clearly her biggest accomplishment in golf, a sport she has played for more than a decade but began to take more seriously when she joined the Pittston Area team as a freshman.
Ruane earned some varsity playing time over the next two years, then became a regular in the Pittston Area boys lineup this season. She was medalist for the team with a 39 on Senior Day and continued her strong late-season play now that she is down to individual competition against other girls.
“Her ability to get off the tee helps her,” Miller said. “It puts her in a position to put her second shot up on the green or near the green.
“It’s mostly her accuracy. Not that she’s a short hitter by any means, but she keeps it in play and golf’s a game of accuracy.”
For Monday’s round, Ruane had additional obstacles.
“It was really windy,” she said. “I had to focus on my shots and pick up on where the wind was blowing and what direction.”
Ruane said her biggest improvement has come in the short game, but she still considers her driver and long irons as her strength. She plans to continue working on the chipping and putting greens, making as much additional progress as possible in her short game between now and the state tournament, which will be a one-day event this year, Oct. 20 for Class 3A players at Heritage Hills Golf Resort in York.
“The greens are going to be fast,” Miller said. “It’s going to be cold and windy, much like (Monday). The short game is going to keep her in.
“It’s going to make or break her round.”
Miller was the only Greater Pittston player to advance and one of just four from the Wyoming Valley Conference.
A year after the WVC swept all four titles, the Lackawanna League took the four championships and eight out of 12 state berths.
CLASS 3A BOYS
Pittston Area’s Tyler Wassel shot 86 to finish tied for 12th in the 29 player field.
Teammate Zack Valeski was 26th with a 98.
CLASS 2A BOYS
Wyoming Area’s J.T. Gober finished tied for 23rd out of 27 players with a 93.
