By Jonathan Bym
Insider Staff Writer
With “Bohemian Rhapsody” playing on a bluetooth speaker and a group of good friends, Ava Bunker wanted to have a relaxing loop around Pinehurst Course No. 3.
The joy of being out on the course was there from the moment she stuck her tee in the ground on to when she rolled in her par putt on the 18th hole never waned.
“I really just wanted to go out and walk the course. I had played in the North & South (Junior Amateur) the week before. I just wanted to get out and have fun,” Bunker said. “I was thinking I could go for a round of 65.”
The end result was Bunker registering a 10-under-par 58 playing from the white tees on the par-68 course, a score that no golfer had ever posted since the Donald Ross course was renovated to its short stature in 2017.
It was a trio of birdies to start that initially drew Bunker’s attention that it wasn’t going to be a run-of-the-mill 3-under round like she expected.
Driver isn’t necessarily the play off the tee on some of the par-4 holes on No. 3, but Bunker used her length to hit driver to within wedge range, and then rolled in birdie putts, all 10 of them, in her historic day. Finishing 10 shots under par in one round is also a low mark for Bunker, who played alongside a pair of Pinehurst caddies and a family friend last Tuesday.
“As things went along, I was thinking I could go for 65, and then go for 63, and then 60,” Bunker said. “Then I said, ‘Why not try and go for 59 watch?’”
A trio of birdies on hole Nos. 11 through 13 and back-to-back birdies on 15 and 16 surpassed any chance at 59 watch, and put an even lower score on the table. All the while, Bunker wasn’t thinking about posting a record score, but keeping the same fun-loving demeanor.
“Normally I like to play just a consistent, fun round,” Bunker said. “I kept doing the same thing through each hole, and I was just trying to have a great time.”
Bunker is set to play golf at Indiana University after graduating at the end of this coming school year. While Indiana is a special place for her and her family, the Sandhills have a homey feel as well. The family splits time between Edinburgh, Indiana, and Seven Lakes.
“I’ve caught myself a few times saying, ‘Back home,’ and that is my second home. I love it there because you have all of these golf courses right there near you,” she said.
Bunker’s record round came after a third-place finish days earlier at the North & South Girls Junior Amateur.
“This really helped me with my confidence, especially after I had a good finish at the North & South,” she said.
The 17-year-old hopes to carry the confidence into her senior year of high school with an already glowing mark in junior amateur golf. Ranked 42nd in the AJGA’s Rolex rankings, she won the Pete and Alice Dye Junior Invitational in June.
Pinehurst has been especially kind to Bunker, where she has had several high finishes in the U.S. Kids Golf World Championships, U.S. Kids Golf World Teen Championships and the North & South Junior Amateurs, capped off with a win in the World Teen Girls 14 division in 2022.
Contact Jonathan Bym at (910) 693-2470 or jonathan@thepilot.com.
