Williamstown golfer Madilyn Buttrey studies a putt on the fifth hole at The Links at Woodridge during Tuesday’s Girls State Tournament in Parkersburg. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

PARKERSBURG — The proverbial shoe was on the other foot between golfers Madilyn Buttrey of Williamstown and Audrey Kerr of Bridgeport.

Earlier this year at the West Virginia Golf Association’s Junior Match Play, Buttrey needed to win one hole over the last four holes. Facing dormie, Kerr went on to win the next five holes, including a playoff hole, to claim the championship.

Fast forward to Tuesday to the Girls State Tournament at The Links at Woodridge. Buttrey faced a six-stroke deficit with 10 holes remaining then made up seven strokes in a span of 11 holes, including her birdie on the first playoff hole to defeat the defending champion from the Girls State Tournament from a year ago.

The two high school juniors turned in a round 3-under par 69 in regulation and earned a spot on the all-tournament team for the third year in a row.

“Match play did cross my mind – here I am in a playoff; I’ve done this before,” Buttrey said. “Today, I had more confidence going into the playoff than I ever had my whole life. I still can’t believe it. I’m really happy for myself and all the hard work I have put in has paid off.

Williamstown golfer Madilyn Buttrey, right, and her coach Rich Siley look over an approach shot at the sixth hole at The Link at Woodridge during Tuesday’s Girls State Tournament in Parkersburg. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

“I would say this is my biggest accomplishment. This year, I have really grown a lot in my mental game. I feel like I can come back from bad shots better than I have in previous years.”

Buttrey was definitely on target with that assessment. After Kerr moved to 4-under and extended her lead to two strokes on the field with four holes remaining, Buttrey decided to put the pond in play on her drive at No. 15.

During practice rounds, she cleared the water but the tendency was to overshoot the fairway, so she clubbed down one and her drive on Tuesday took several skips before getting wet.

On her penalty shot, Buttrey just wanted to make sure to stay dry but hit a shot across an adjoining fairway – leaving her 114 yards back to the green. She used a 9-iron and stuck the ball within two feet from the pin for what was essentially a tap-in bogey.

Best bogey Buttrey ever made since it kept her in contention. She picked up a stroke on 16 then made birdie on 18 to force the tie.

Parkersburg Catholic golfer Peyton Murdock watches her approach shot at the fifth hole during Tuesday’s Girls State Tournament at The Links at Woodridge in Parkersburg. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

“By far, that’s the best bogey I have ever made,” Buttrey said. “It was definitely a scary hole. On my approach shot to the green, I could see the top of the flag,but that was it. So I knew it was going to be pretty close., but I wasn’t sure how close.

“The ball was laying in complete dirt – like a dry spot, so it wasn’t a good lie.”

The final foursome starting on the first hole included Buttrey, Kerr, George Washington’s Chastyn Viars and Morgantown’s Angela Yao. During one stretch on the front nine, Kerr made four birdies in five holes and made the turn at 3-under 32.

“Honestly, I was just keeping it pretty close to the pin,” Kerr said. “My putting wasn’t extraordinary,but I was able to hit from 100 yards in. I was just deadly. I was hitting everything close.

“It’s actually crazy because I actually played (Buttrey) in match play and won. It’s kind of crazy how that stuff works, right? In that tournament, I was just trying to come back. I had nothing to lose, so I put it all on the line.”

Kerr’s father, Chris, is the Bridgeport coach and worked side-by-side with her daughter throughout the tournament trying to give encouragement.

“I don’t think people understand how much of a help it is to have someone that knows your game just about as well as you do,” Audrey Kerr said. “He was the one that started me on golf.”

Both Yao and Viars had an opening to catch Kerr and maintain the pace with Buttrey.

Trailing the leader by two strokes, Yao ran into an unusual snag on the 11th hole when her drive found the trees on one side of the creek then bounced back in front of the creek with a crowd of timber in her view. Yao had to take an unplayable lie and take a second drive. The sophomore lefty took a double bogey on the hole and never quite recovered – finishing in a tie with Viars at 73.

Viars, experiencing the tournament for the first time as a freshman, made eagle on No. 12 and trailed the leader by just one stroke at that juncture but could make the next step.

“I was watching the scoreboard because sometimes it helped me decide what shots I wanted to take,” Viars said. “I don’t feel like I played bad. I definitely thought I had a shot on the back nine.

“Playing in our foursome was pretty competitive – down the stretch it was us four down the line on the leaderboard. Next year, I’ll know the course better and how I’ll play it.”

Wirt County freshman Kate Dotson placed in the all-tournament’s top eight after shooting a 79 and placing in a tie for seventh place. Finishing just outside the top 10 was Ripley sophomore Bristol Smith finishing at 86.

As for Buttrey, her round consisted of eight pars with one double bogey for a 2-over 37 on the front nine followed by two eagles, two birdies and one bogey on the back nine. She clinched the title with a birdie putt on the first playoff hole at No. 10 – the same hole she eagled during regulation.

“This feels amazing,” Buttrey said. “When I stepped up for that putt, I was talking to myself – I talk to myself way too much. It felt like a solid putt when I hit it.”

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com