By Andy Walter

DOVER — There are no scoreboards out on the golf course at this level.

So Sarah Lydic had no idea where she stood as she came up the 18th fairway on Wednesday afternoon.

Indeed, the Sussex Academy freshman actually thought she must have been knocked out of first place by the cheers for the group in front of hers.

“I was like, ‘Oh, I guess, I didn’t win it,’” Lydic thought.

But when it was Lydic’s group’s turn to putt out on 18, Tatnall’s Jeff Homer offered to go before her. It’s traditional in golf to let the winner putt last.

“It was surprising once I got in,” she said.

Lydic had indeed won the DIAA individual state golf title, taking her first one at the age of just 15. Lydic shot a 73 on Wednesday, finishing with a one-under par total of 143 in the 36-hole event at Maple Country Club.

Tied for the lead at the start of the day, the Ocean View resident ended up four shots ahead of second-place Rylie Heflin (147) of Tower Hill. Tatnall’s Matt Homer and Red Lion Christian’s Evan Barbin tied for third at 148.

It’s the fifth-straight season that a female player has won DIAA individual medalist honors. Former Tower Hill/Archmere player Phoebe Brinker, now a standout at Duke, won three of those championships.

Lydic said she was inspired by Brinker, who was at the tournament this week.

“She really makes me want to work harder because she’s so good,” said Lydic. “She inspires me to play my best.”

As for the round itself, Lydic said she stayed pretty relaxed despite playing with the lead. She started her day with a birdie and played the front nine at two-under par.

Her biggest slip-up of the day was a double-bogey six on No. 10. But Lydic played the final eight holes at one-over par and that was good enough on a day when only nine players finished under 80.

“It’s different because usually it’s an individual sport,” Lydic said about the DIAA tournament. “It’s more fun, it’s more relaxed.

“I don’t really think about winning as much as playing well and having fun,” she added. “If you’re not having fun, you’re not playing well, I guess. But yeah, there’s always a thought about winning. I haven’t won a tournament in a while so it feels good to finally be able to do it.

“I don’t think I’d be able to do it without my sister, my family, my teammates and my coaches.”

Lydic had plenty of company in the top 10 on Wednesday as her sister, Hannah, finished sixth with a 154 while teammate Sawyer Brockstedt was eighth with a 156.

Sussex Academy finished third in the team standings with a score of 550. Tower Hill captured its fifth straight team state crown with a 533 while Tatnall was second at 537.

Lydic is the first Henlopen Conference player to win the state title since Caesar Rodney’s Joe Visalli in 2013 and is only the second downstater to win it since 2004.

Sussex Academy coach Tim Whelan said he wasn’t surprised that Lydic was able to stand up to the pressure of winning the tournament.

“She’s always been that kind of kid — she’s a terrier,” he said. “She goes at it, she’s not afraid. She’s a member at our club (Bear Trap Dunes) and she’ll take anybody on. And she always has been like that. ... No fear.”

Playing in the group right ahead of her sister, Hannah Lydic didn’t know where Sarah stood, either.

“I would ask how she was doing and they’d say, ‘Oh, she’s doing well,’ but that was it,” said Hannah, a junior. “They didn’t go into details.

“She’s just like me — but better,” Hannah said with a laugh. “It’s great to have her just light up. She’s going to go way farther than I ever will — but I’m so happy that she will.”

There’s no reason to think that Lydic and Sussex Academy won’t be contenders in the sport for at least the next couple years.

Whelan points out that Brockstedt is one of five eighth-graders on the squad. Of course, the expectations for the Seahawks and the Lydics will get bigger, too.

“They’ll grow a little bit,” Whelan said about the other players in the state. “Our kids will grow a little bit and they’ll be back at it.

“But she (Lydic) will be a contender for the next three years, that’s for sure.”