Everyone was surprised at the score Misty Butts posted at the Northern Nevada 4A zone-qualifying golf tournament.

Everyone, that is, except Butts. The sophomore fired an 84 on Thursday at Wolf Run in Reno and held the clubhouse lead until the final group of the day came in. Butts ended up finishing an impressive third in zone. In return, she earned a trip to next week’s state championships at Red Hawk in Sparks.

“I haven’t been doing that well this season,” said Butts, whose previous season-best was a 98. Her career-best is 83 at Tahoe Paradise Golf Course. “I shot a 91 in practice the day before and have been doing better in the last few days. I’m a bit shocked, but I’m really happy.”

Tahoe coach Marsha Butler said she knew her super sophomore was capable, but wondered when she’d put it all together in competition.

“She’s shown she can do it in practice rounds. We knew she could. Everybody was pretty excited for her,” Butler said.

Butts fired 42-42, using a smooth putting stroke to guide her way through the new Wolf Run layout.

“It’s a nice course. The greens were hard to hold the ball on. I was just doing well at putting and didn’t worry about it. If I made (state), then I made it,” said Butts, who wants to play consistently during the two-day state match. “I’ll look to stay in the 90s, hitting the ball straight and really accurate.”

Tahoe’s other zone qualifier, sophomore Alana Wike, finished in the top-20 with a score of 94.

Tahoe Daily Tribune E-mail: tribune@tahoe.com

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