NYSPHSAA GIRLS' GOLF: ABEL FINISHES TIED FOR THIRD AT STATES (June 8, 2026)

Southern Tier Sports Report
RUSH — Corning’s Delaney Abel finished strong at the New York State Golf Championships, shooting a second-round 70 to finish third place for the second straight year.

Playing at Wild Wood Country Club, the Hawks sophomore was two-under on the day. She had one of four under-par rounds on Monday, and one of only five under-par rounds at the tournament. 

Hayden Knapp of South Glens Falls also shot a 70, after an even-par 72 on the opening day, to win the tournament at 2-under. First-round leader Rachel O’Rourke, of Rome Free Academy shot a one-over 73 to finish even par and take second. Abel tied with defending state champion Nina Choe of The Ursuline School, who had the lowest round of the tournament on Monday with a 68, after a 78 on the opening day. 

“I felt pretty decent with the way I played today,” Abel said. “I definitely had to put the pressure on just a little bit to clip back up the leaderboard, but I was pretty steady throughout that. Round one my tee shots were certainly what was holding me back from putting up a lower number. But, I thankfully was able to work out some of the kinks in my swing and I was able to get it back in the fairway and in contention during round two.”

Abel was happy with the way she bounced back on Monday after an off day, by her standards, on Sunday.

“It was a very nice feeling to be able to finish the tournament strong,” Abel said. “When I was younger I used to get down on myself constantly when I would not play y best, so being able to keep my head up throughout the weekend and especially on the back nine of the final round was something I am personally very proud of.”

A year ago things were different for Abel. Last year she led the tournament after day one, but struggled early in round two and had to fight to stay near the top of the leaderboard. This year, Abel was tied for eighth after day one and steadily moved up the leaderboard on Monday.

Abel had five birdies on Monday and three birdies. On Sunday she had three birdies, a bogey and three double bogeys. ON Monday she avoided any double bogeys. She shot a 34 on the back-nine on Monday with two birdies, a bogey and six pars. She had a 36 on the front with three birdies and two bogeys. 

“I was really happy I was able to bounce back,” Abel said. “I had a shaky start the beginning of my final round, so I was forced to make some aggressive shots to climb back into contention, which was a very humbling experience. Since yesterday was one of my higher rounds of the season, I was pretty bummed that it took place during the most important event of the spring season. But, to fight back on the difficulties of round one into the final round was, and will forever, be a very memorable moment in my career development.”

Finishing third again was special, but Abel knows all she was able to control was how she played, not what place she finished.

“It’s a very good feeling, I mean you never know what you are going to get though,” Abel said. “I could have shot the best rounds of my life and came in last, so it all depends on the other golfers in the field.

“I am very thankful to be able to stick it out for another year on the podium surrounded by some of my best friends. But, you can never assume this is where you will be at the beginning of the round. It’s just one shot at a time. Hopefully we will be back next year to try again.”

Corning coach Chris Clark knows how well Abel played all weekend.

“Delaney is a great golfer with tons of potential,” Clark said. “Although she didn’t have a flawless round on day one she still played well and kept herself in contention. Today, she played fantastic and did everything she needed to do to win a state title. Unfortunately for her a few other girls today Las played flawless. It was an amazing find round of golf from the top 4-5 girls in the field.

“She has nothing to be ashamed of. She kept fighting for 36 holes and came up just short to some tremendous competition.”

Horseheads’ Jemma Randall finished 88th. She shot a 102 on Sunday, but came back on Monday with a round of 92. 
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PROVIDED PHOTOS. 

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