NATCHEZ — Kate and Liza Mayo, two of the three golfers that make up the Cathedral girls golf team, traveled to Hattiesburg for a nine-hole tournament Tuesday and shot the second- and third- lowest scores of the day, 53 and 56, respectively.

It might have been enough for Cathedral to pull out an overall win, if Sumrall High School’s Tristan Cooley hadn’t shot a tournament-low 3-over 38.

The Mayos were awarded some consolation afterwards. Cathedral placed second overall in the tournament, a step in the right direction according to coach Kurt Russ.

“Every shot counts with the girls,” Russ said. “We had some problems on the putting greens, those greens we faster than they were used to. But that comes with age, they’ll get that at some point.”

A team with just three players, two of them being sisters, is bound to have good chemistry. Kate, a senior, and Liza, a freshman, believe that a small team is an advantage.

“I think we match (big teams), we’re close,” Kate said. “I don’t think we’re too far behind. I like having three because you know each other, it’s easy to gel together.”

Golf is an individual sport. While it doesn’t require the same timing or level of camaraderie on which team sports rely, the Mayo sisters say playing golf together for so long has its perks regarding preparation.

“I love playing with (Liza) because I know her and know what she’s like,” Mayo said. “We can come out in the summer or on the weekend together. I don’t have to go by myself.”

High school golf is scored as a team event; the two lowest scores from a team are summed which results in the team total for the tournament. Although it’s important for the Mayos and eighth-grade teammate Kayla Star to feel in sync, having only three players puts the Cathedral girls squad at a fundamental disadvantage to a team with four or five possible scores to submit on any given day.

“There is no room for error,” Russ said. “A prime example was that we came in second in the last tournament … When you only take two scores, it could be good or bad. (Cooley) shot low enough.”

Russ, however, is extremely optimistic about his girls squad this season, and in the future. Russ’ daughter, Chandler, is a Cathedral golf alumna. Russ said his daughter coming up through the program has kept his focus on the girls program as he builds for the future.

“The girls team has been exciting for a while,” Russ said. “I’ve been special with the girls because I believe girls usually get a raw deal when it comes to athletics.”

To Russ, the future of Cathedral girls golf is bright. In Kate, the older Mayo sister, he sees a focus on improvement that has seemed to rub off on the underclassmen. Tuesday was Star’s first high school tournament, and Russ said he is willing to spend time developing golfers that reciprocate the same interest in improving.

“If I have players like … (Kate and Liza) and Kayla coming up, we can work with that,” Russ said. “I’ve got young kids excited about playing the game, which makes me excited about coaching.”