Rock Bridge golfers in fifth after first day of state tournament.

The Rock Bridge girls golf team is in fifth place after shooting a 357 on the first day of the two-day MSHSAA State Championship on Monday. Notre Dame de Sion, the current leader, finished at 327.

"The girls showed the same focus that they have all season," Rock Bridge coach Melissa Melahn said by phone, though she acknowledged that the Bruins have room for improvement.

"Everybody could probably say that they have a stroke here and there that they could cut off," Melahn said. "The good thing is that you have two days so you can correct things after the first day."

Senior Kayla Burri, who finished tied for 24th place at last year's state tournament, is in a tie for fourth place after posting an 80 on Monday on the par 70 course at Fremont Hills Country Club outside of Springfield, Mo. Burri said she felt she gave away strokes during Monday's round by over-analyzing her putts, a problem she hopes to fix by Tuesday's round. 

"Tomorrow I need to work most on my putting.  I kind of second-guessed myself a lot," Burri said. "It was my second shots that saved me."

Junior Meghan Mueller finished 11th overall last year and, like Burri, had trouble with her short game. Mueller is in a tie for seventh after a first-round 81 on Monday.

"The greens were really tricky. I missed a lot on the edge," Mueller said. "I was having trouble with speed and getting it consistent."

Rock Bridge will tee off Tuesday knowing the pressure is on, but neither Mueller nor Burri thinks nerves will be an issue.

"I was only nervous at the first hole," Mueller said. "You just need to forget about the bad shots and focus on the one's you have coming up."

Burri said is looking forward to what will be her final day of high school competition.

"I'm more excitied than anything," Burri said. "As a senior, I want to go out and hopefully do well tomorrow."