Washougal’s Addison Paul endures tough course to win 2A GSHL title

LONGVIEW — On a day when the golf course was the clear winner, Addison Paul held her own better than anyone.

The Washougal sophomore overcame a slow start to win the Class 2A Greater St. Helens League girls golf tournament by six strokes on Monday.

A score of 14-over-par 85, including 47 on the front nine, wasn’t what Paul had in mind. But that turned out to be enough for a decisive win on a Longview Country Club course that showed no mercy.

Firm slanted greens and tough angles aside, Monday was the first time many players in the field had played all 18 holes at Longview Country Club. Paul had only played the front nine once, when she and her teammates had a practice round Friday.

“The front nine was playing 10 times harder today,” Paul said. “It was a completely different course. I think it’s warmer. It’s Monday so they might have rolled the greens. The pin placements out here today were brutal.”

Paul has shown late-season resilience before. She finished fifth at last year’s 2A GSHL tournament before rebounding to place third at the district tournament and sixth at state.

She heads into the final two events of this season with a boost of confidence after shooting 2-over-par 38 on the back nine.

“I know what I can do on the course,” she said. “On the back nine I went and did it.”

Paul was among six No. 1 seeds who were split between the first and last groups. After finishing her round, she could only wait for roughly 90 minutes to see how the final group would fare.

That group included Ridgefield sophomore Evangeline Fulton, who tied for the 2A GSHL title last year and was coming off a six-stroke win at the 18-hole 2A GSHL Invite on April 22.

But the course was no less forgiving on that final group. Fulton and Washougal freshman Keira Newman tied for second with 91s.

Columbia River senior Maia Carriillo shot 93 to finish fourth. She and eighth-place Emery Gerlack led the Rapids to their third consecutive 2A GSHL team title, 24 shots ahead of second-place Ridgefield.