By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

Her path to victory was clear.

After everyone completed 18 holes in the Troup High par-3 tournament on Wednesday afternoon at the Troup County First Tee course, three players were tied for low-medalist honors, and they headed to the first hole for a sudden-death playoff.

One of those players was Troup’s Abby Taylor, and she watched one of her playing competitors put a ball in the water, and the other one place her tee shot well off the green.

So Taylor figured that if she could clear the water and land her ball on the putting surface, she’d have a great chance to win the hole, and the tournament.

“I hit an 8-iron, so I was trying to put an easy swing on it, and get in the air, and put it somewhere close and have a chance to two-putt,” Taylor said.

Taylor followed that game plan to the letter.

Her ball landed to the right of the flag about 20 feet from the hole, and she two-putted from there for the win.

Troup’s Kyla Bedingfield, who was also in the playoff, made Taylor work for it.

After her tee shot went in the water, Bedingfield chipped onto the green, and she made the putt to finish with a four.

That meant Taylor had to make her par putt, and that’s what she did, with the ball landing in the middle of the cup.

Bedingfield and Shelby Blalock of Harrison finished tied for second.

Troup took top honors in the varsity team competition.

While Taylor and Bedingfield each shot a 77, Sydney Lindsey had an 84.

LaGrange finished second in the varsity division, with Blakely Arp leading the way with a 78, and she was one shot away from joining the playoff.

Ally Arp was next for LaGrange with an 81, and Eileen Hwang shot a 98.

There was also a junior-varsity division, with Troup finishing second to Harris County.

Sarah Blanks led Troup with an 82, Skyler Yates shot a 92, and Taylor Kennedy carded a 93.

Taylor, who last week signed a letter of intent to join the golf team at Point University, rebounded from a tough front nine to win the tournament.

After needing 41 shots to make her way through the first nine holes, Taylor shot a 36 on the back nine.

“The front nine I struggled a little bit, so I focused a little bit more on the back,” Taylor said.

Bedingfield, meanwhile, was thrilled with her performance, which she did not see coming.

“Honestly, today was not what I expected, but I’m very glad with the results,” she said. “I played with some good people. It was a lot of fun.”

On the one-hole playoff, Bedingfield was unable to clear the water, so she set out to make the most out of the hole and finish with a four.

“It was a nice recovery after going into the water,” she said.

From a team standpoint, it was a successful day for Troup, which is hoping to make some noise in the upcoming region tournament.

“I’m super excited,” Troup coach Kayle Yeargin said. “We’re in a really good spot getting ready for region.”

LaGrange’s golfers, meanwhile, will get right back to work today for the Granger Invitational at Highland Country Club.

Arp, who finished at 1-over in a match at The Fields on Tuesday, will be one of the favorites to win the individual title today.