By Jed Blackwell. Associate Editor/Publisher

Byrnes’ Lady Rebel Invitational has long served as the unofficial kickoff to the girls high school golf season in the Upstate.

If Tuesday’s 2023 edition of the tournament is any indication, this year could be quite familiar.

Chesnee, the defending 2A state champion, beat Dorman, the defending 5A state champion, 308-311 in an event that was delayed for about an hour by a midday rainstorm. Despite the soggy conditions, River Falls yielded a couple of low scores, and both sets of defending champions were on their game.

Chesnee was led by Olivia Roberts, who fired a 66 to take medalist honors. 

“I feel like I played really good,” Roberts said. “I just had everything going. My putter felt really good. I just felt like I was going to make everything.”

She hit a couple close, too. Roberts won the closest-to-the-pin award on the sixth hole, and hit two or three more even closer.

“The wedges were helping a lot,” she said. I hit a bunch close, and I made all of them.”

Chesnee coach Kyle Scruggs said that Roberts seems to have the ability to find another gear on the course.

“It’s hard to put into perspective what she can do,” he said. “She’s just a game-time player, really.”

Addy Parker and Olivia Shields both shot 79 for Chesnee, while Abigail Watson shot 84.

Maddie Carraway led Dorman with a 77, while Ava Romansky, Londyn Rath, and AC Peake all shot 78 for the Cavaliers.

Behind them, the team scores might not have been remarkable, but the individual scores were a who’s who of young ladies who have had a remarkable summer. Blythewood’s Caroline Hawkins, the reigning South Carolina Junior Match Play Champion, was second overall with a 67. Daniel’s Peyton O’Brien, who won SCJGA events at Smithfields and Cobb’s Glenn, finished third with a 71. Mauldin’s Olivia Pellerin, who won The Blade Junior Classic in July, was fourth with a 73, and Belton-Honea Path’s Kate Gunnells, who was competing as an individual, fired a 74 to round out the All-Tournament team in fifth place.

Spartanburg Day took third in the tournament with a 333, Daniel was fourth at 338, and TL Hanna rounded out the top 5 at 345.

The event came on the heels of last weekend’s Lady Blue Jacket Invitational, hosted by Aynor. Chapin won that event going away, and Scruggs said his team wasn’t pleased with their performance at sixth overall. He was happy to see his golfers bounce back.

“We struggled down there,” Scruggs said. “We practiced yesterday and focused on a lot of the things we thought were weaknesses and tried to make some changes. I think they did a really good job. We saw some big improvements from every single player today. It was nice to come out here and compete against a strong field like this and to be able to come away with a win.”

Scruggs said continuing to make those little improvements would be key to the Eagles season.

“You’re always trying to figure out where you’re weak, what you can do to improve as a team, and a coach, really, to get them to trust what they’re doing. Doing it in practice is one thing, but sometimes in a tournament you’ll revert back to bad habits. We’re just trying to work on what they’re not comfortable with and trying to get them comfortable in competition.”

To that end, Scruggs said long, 18-hole touraments like the Lady Rebels help to set the table for the post-season stretch.

“As you progress, you want them to be playing their best golf in October,” he said. “I think trying to play in as many 18-hole tournaments as you can, and letting the girls get used to these long, five-plus hour rounds and getting them ready to play in the postseason helps a ton.”

The Lady Eagles are also looking for an answer as to whether or not they’ll be able to defend their 2A title. Scruggs said he’s hoping for a little bit clearer picture on whether the classification can field enough girls teams for a separate bracket or whether the Eagles will be pushed back into the 3A field come state tournament time.

“Right now, we just don’t know,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll have an idea after the ADs meeting how many teams we have in 2A/1A, because that changes every year. We’re just trying to figure out where we’re playing right now.”