Fast and furious: Quick greens cut short La Conner golfer’s state title bid
The sports adage that speed kills even applies to golf despite its trademark leisurely pace.
A case in point is this year’s Washington State 2B Girls’ Golf Tournament, where exceedingly fast greens at Liberty Lake Golf Course near Spokane wreaked havoc with the championship hopes of numerous golfers.
One of those was La Conner High School senior Addison Keller.
Keller, noted for her crisp short game — she recorded a nifty chip-in earlier this season — fell prey to Liberty Lake’s quick putting surface in opening round play on May 19, missing the 104 cut line by eight strokes.
Keller’s goal was to match her season-best round of 100 and advance to the state tourney’s second and final day. It wasn’t meant to be.
“She had some really good shots,” Braves head golf coach Galen McKnight said. “But it’s a challenging course and the greens ran really fast.”
McKnight said Keller’s exit from the state field didn’t overshadow her solid 2026 campaign.
“Overall, she played very well. She had a lot of ‘firsts’ this year. Her first chip-in, her first birdie and her first nine-hole round under 50,” he said.
Having competed this spring on Western Washington’s more damp, wind-swept courses, Keller knew the drier 6,607-yard Liberty Lake layout — featuring water hazards and white sand bunkers in addition to the large and fast-playing greens — would pose some issues.
She tackled the course with a pre-tourney practice round on May 18.
“We knew the greens would be quick,” McKnight acknowledged. “They were our focus.”
Downhill holes proved especially difficult. Approach shots required a perfect touch.
“You had to land it,” McKnight said, “or it would run on you.”
Forest Ridge junior Ava Jensen claimed the tournament crown with a two-day score of 146.
At Liberty Lake, Keller made her second consecutive State 2B appearance. She had carded a one-day total of 116 in 2025, placing 42nd overall among 60 entrants.
Keller was also making her second state-level competition of the 2025-26 school year. This past fall, as a libero and defensive specialist, she helped lead the Braves to the State 2B Volleyball Tournament in Yakima.
Keller’s prowess on the court earned her Skagit Valley Herald Athlete of the Week accolades in October.
“I’m just so proud of Addi for trying something new with golf,” said her mom, Pam Keller, the Braves head volleyball coach. “She grew up being around volleyball and playing for so many years, so it was comfortable for her.
“Addi is a very quiet person by nature, so golf has been a great outlet that allows her to focus on her own strengths without the weight of a team on her,” coach Keller said.
McKnight said that Keller went from the Liberty Lake links straight to an extended Memorial Day Weekend family vacation ahead of her final few weeks at La Conner High. In addition to classes on the local campus, she is enrolled in the Vet Tech program at the Northwest Career and Technical Academy in Mount Vernon.
Keller has much success to reflect on between now and graduation, McKnight said.
“I’m really proud of how she played this year,” he said. “She met a lot of her goals for the season and was a good role model for the younger girls on the team.”
Bill Reynolds is a general assignment reporter for La Conner Community News.
