Smashing long drives isn’t the only thing Norman North’s Kaitlin Milligan does well
NORMAN — Spend a few holes watching Kaitlin Milligan, and it’s easy to see that the Norman North golfer has a brand of power you won’t see in a lot of high school players.
Distance has never been an issue for The
Oklahoman’s All-City Girls Golfer of the Year.
In fact, there came times when she had too much power, so she had to put the other strengths of her game to work.
She did it in a way that made her the runaway champion at the Class 6A state tournament last month.
To meet the limit of 14 clubs in her bag, she decided to leave her driver in the car for the 36-hole tournament at Ponca City Country Club.
Milligan won by nine strokes.
“It was a short course, so I thought being able to hit fairways, hit greens and make putts was the way to go,” Milligan said. “I wanted to have my 3-iron in the bag, so that meant take the driver out, and I think it helped me manage the course a lot better.”
The pursuit of a state title had been a long road for Milligan, who finished in the top 10 each of the first three years of her career before last month’s breakthrough.
“It was definitely a long time coming,” Milligan said. “Somehow I always got really close, but was never able to finish. So being able to actually carry it out and get the title was a big step. Hopefully I can carry it into college.”
Now, Milligan will head down the road to OU to continue her career, where she hopes that powerful swing can be more of an advantage on the longer courses played in college tournaments.
“Well, the driver’s definitely going back in the bag,” Milligan said with a laugh. “It’ll definitely help me. It’ll be more of an advantage.
“I think (OU) is a good place to continue my academic career and be able to get to the next level in golf or in anything I want to do.”