LIVE OAK — For four years at Suwannee, Ryan Donaldson had accomplished pretty much everything one can on a golf course.
Donaldson had won individual district titles and medalist honors at region tournaments too. As a junior, she fired a 10-under to win the Jill Darr Invitational.
There was only one major prize that had eluded Donaldson: a state title.
But in November, one week after signing her letter of intent to play at the University of Oklahoma, Donaldson checked off that one missing item on her high school resume as well, rattling off five birdies in her final nine holes at Mission Inn Resort + Club in Howey-in-the-Hills to finish 2-under and claim the Class 2A state title.
“It was like the perfect ending to my high school career,” said Donaldson, who also captured her third Lake City Reporter Girls Golfer of the Year accolade. “Senior year too, I don’t have another chance. This was my last time. To finally get it done was so rewarding.”
To finally get it done, Donaldson said she also had to let go of all the pressure and expectations that she, and everybody else, have placed on her.
Take her junior season for example. In addition to that incredible 10-under to win the Jill Darr where she shot par or lower on every hole, Donaldson also won the district and region titles.
That had Donaldson focused on finishing off what she and SHS coach Damon Wooley had called the high school Grand Slam.
Instead, she placed 16th.
“I had that expectation that I was supposed to win state, I’ve won everything up until this point, why shouldn’t I be able to go and win,” Donaldson said.
This year, there was no chase for the Grand Slam. She finished second at the Jill Darr. After shooting a 4-under to win the district crown, she placed third at the regional tournament with a 1-under.
That led her into the state tournament feeling good about how she was playing, even though the wins weren’t coming as consistently as the year before.
“I think this past year I really just started to focus less on that, less on the outcome, scoreboard-wise, more so just going out and playing the best I could, putting up the best number I could and wherever that put me on the leaderboard is where it put me,” she said. “I think when I got to state, I had been playing really well. I kind of let go of all the outside voices of, ‘Hey, go get us that state title,’ and all of that and just going out and focusing on putting up the best number I could. The best number I could was what got me the win.”
That best number didn’t look like it was going to be enough for a while at state. After shooting a 2-over on the first day of the two-day tournament, Donaldson was sitting 3-over through the first nine holes of the final round.
That was despite feeling like she was playing well. Even though she felt like she was hitting good shots, putts just weren’t dropping for her.
That all changed when Donaldson made the turn.
She drained a 30-foot putt on the 10th for a birdie and, suddenly, she was in a zone.
“That putt going in gave me the green light coming in that, ‘I can make putts on these greens. I can make birdies, I can score out here,’” Donaldson said immediately after winning the title. “I was like, ‘You’re playing really good right now, let’s see how low we can go.’”
She went low enough to win the elusive state title, even after the close calls at the Jill Darr and regional tournament that had her finishing short even though she had played well and shot well.
It’s part of the maturation and mental growth the Oklahoma signee displayed throughout her senior season, where the results weren’t necessarily as important as the process and the way she felt she was playing.
“That’s one of those things, I can go out and shoot a great number and if I get beat by one shot, I can’t be mad about that,” Donaldson said. “I can go and figure out what I could have done differently that could have made up that difference, but at the end of the day, once you walk off the last hole and sign your scorecard, if I get beat by one shot after playing well, I’m just going to shake the other person’s hand and tell them congrats. They got the best of me that day.”
That didn’t happen often for Donaldson, who shot the area’s best nine-hole average with a 34.6 while taking medalist honors in all five dual matches she played in.
All of those medalist honors, though, paled in comparison to that final win, the one that had eluded her for six years — two years at McKeel before moving to North Florida and spending the past four years at SHS.
That prize was not only the capper to her high school career, but also ended off an “insane” week for Donaldson in November.
Exactly one week before she completed that final round at Mission Inn Resort + Cub on Nov. 19, Donaldson was back home at Suwannee Country Club to finish off another elusive dream.
That day, surrounded by family, friends and her teammates, Donaldson signed that letter of intent with the Sooners, the team that she had been committed to for more than a year.
It was the culmination of a lifetime of work and chasing a dream.
“Signing that paper was a dream come true,” Donaldson said. “It was something I’ve worked toward my whole life. Then a week later I was winning a state title, which is something I’ve put the last six years of my life into trying to do. It was pretty insane.
“Both of those moments were goals and dreams of mine that I’ve had for a very long time. To finally be official with my dream school and then to cap off my high school career with the state title back-to-back was just insane. It was amazing.”
ALL-AREA TEAM
Ryan Donaldson
Suwannee, senior
The LCR’s three-time Girls Golfer of the Year capped off her career with the Class 2A state title, shooting a 2-under-140 to win by a stroke. The Oklahoma signee’s elusive crown followed a District 2 title (4-under-67) and a third-place finish in Region 1 (1-under-70). She finished the year with an area-best 34.6 nine-hole average, was medalist in all five of her dual matches, and placed second at the Jill Darr Invitational.
Claire Bond
Branford, junior
Led the Buccaneers with a 38.6 nine-hole average and was medalist 13 times. She was runner-up at the District 3-1A tournament with a 77, tied for 12th in Region 1 with an 82 and tied for fourth at the Jill Darr Invitational.
Rayna Hardin
Columbia, junior
Led the Tigers with a 41.2 nine-hole average, finishing second at the District 2-2A tournament with an 83 before tying for 11th at the Region 1 tournament with an 83. Was a three-time medalist and tied ninth at the Jill Darr Invitational.
Megan Ruwe
Columbia, senior
Led the Tigers as a five-time medalist, finishing with a 41.3 nine-hole average. She placed third at the District 2-2A tournament with an 86 and tied ninth at the Region 1 tournament with an 80.
Adeline Mock
Columbia, senior
Finished the season with a 44.6 nine-hole average, placing fourth at the District 2-2A tournament with an 88 before finishing 17th at the Region 1 tournament with a 93. Was a medalist twice.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Chet Carter, Columbia
The Tigers didn’t lose a single dual match during the regular season, finishing 16-0-1. That led to a third-place finish at the Jill Darr Invitational and a sixth straight District 2-2A title, which they won by 95 strokes. Columbia just missed qualifying for state by five strokes, finishing third in Region 1-2A.