TAMPA, Fla. Kathleen Junior Darby Hancock was the best of the rest at the Girls 3A State Golf Championship beating out 98 other girls in the division and was the only girl to finish under par for the tournament.

“I’m still kind of in shock to be honest, I worked really hard for this and it was definitely a dream and a goal to hit so the feeling is really really amazing” said the 16-year old after taking home her first gold medal.

It was the fourth straight year Darby competed in the State tournament, last year she finished seventh. Darby is just the third girl in Polk County Public School history to win a state championship in golf.

She is one of two girls at her school who plays golf, she has to practice with the boys and has played in six matches against other boys this season, winning three of them.

“They definitely put pressure on me because I’m putting myself out there with the boys and stuff because you have to show out and show off because your playing with the boys and there like why is this girl here so you have to prove to them that you belong there”.

The Kathleen golfer will stay very busy over the winter, playing in 13 tournaments around the country to stay sharp and be ready to defend her title next year.