After placing third in the 2025 state final, the River Bluff girls golf team came into 2026 seeking redemption, and that’s just what they got. 

The Gators were crowned 2026 5A girls golf state champions after a dominant second-round showing on the course at River Hills in Myrtle Beach.   

River Bluff overcame a one-stroke deficit from the first round and went on to win the competition by 10 strokes after scoring the best round of the match, at 321. 

“This is a really special group,” River Bluff head Roger Smith said. “They were very determined from the beginning of the year, like ‘we're going to go do this.’” Smith said.  “It was really great to see their work pay off.”   

Last season, the Gators were close to the lead, but never got a chance to attempt a comeback. 

Weather and field conditions forced the 2025 title to be decided by a single round. Lexington won that year, followed by Dorman and River Bluff behind them. The Gators trailed the Wildcats by two strokes. 

“Not to take away from what the other schools did on that one-day competition, but you know a state championship should be two days,” Smith said. “We kind of felt like we had a championship taken away.”

This year’s contest was two rounds, and the Gators did get their chance to come back and snatch the win. 

Mighe Huang led the team, finishing fourth overall with a score of 159. Merritt Wham finished just behind her in fifth, two strokes back. 

Rosie Vroon and Emery Jones tied for 10th with 167. Grace Shelly also made contributions, scoring 179 and tying for 27th out of more than 90 golfers. 

“The resiliency of our girls was amazing all season,” Smith said. “That’s not coachable. That’s just grit and determination.”

Smith said as the year went on, he started to believe the team's potential more and more. 

From subtle improvements in the same events the team competed in last year, to the strength in the face of adversity, Smith went into the final competition truly believing his team had a shot. 

“That’s kind of where you measure some expectations,” Smith said. “I don’t like expectations, but we won the Palmetto Preview, which no team of mine had ever won. We finished runner-up last year. We finished runner-up at Smith Memorial, but we won it this year, so we won a bunch more events.” 

At the championship match, River Bluff served as the host school, meaning Smith was very busy before and during the event. 

Ahead of the second day, before the first player teed off, Smith knew he wasn’t going to be able to see the team during warm-ups, so he sent them a simple message. 

“I let them know how proud of them I was, and that each one of them had contributed to the most fun season of girls golf I’ve ever had,” Smith said. “ That’s not any exaggeration there. They each brought something unique and valuable to this group.”

With the win, River Bluff’s girls captured their first state title in program history. It’s the third golf championship in two years for the school, following the boys’ back-to-back championships in the spring of 2025 and 2026.   

While he believes the future of the sport can be unclear at times, Smith knows at River Bluff, his teams will be set up to succeed. 

“I don’t know where golf’s going, but we’ve got good kids in the program, and we’ve got good families,” Smith said.