TIFTON — The Class AAAAAAA girls golf championship came down to the wire Tuesday at Spring Hill County Club in Tifton. When all the scores were counted, North Gwinnett finished on top of the heap and four schools three other schools were within 10 shots of the lead.

The Lady Bulldogs finished with a two-day total of 479. That was one stroke better than second place Mill Creek, who shot 480. Lambert, who came in having won five straight state titles, finished third at 482. South Forsyth was fourth at 488.

Jenny Bae of Collins Hill was the tournament low medalist. Bae finished at 144, having shot a 74 Monday. Tuesday, she was one of two players to finish under par at a two-under 70.

Tift County was host for the tournament. The Lady Devils finished eighth at 574.

Unlike the Class AAAAAAA boys tournament 30 miles away in Moultrie, the participants were able to finish 36 holes — just barely.

“I almost called it (off),” said Tift athletic director Rusty Smith, who headed the tourney.

Players dodged rain Monday, the first day of the championship. Tuesday’s weather was little better, with off and on showers all morning. Conditions changed to muggy during the afternoon, but within 10 minutes of recognizing North Gwinnett, Mill Creek and Bae, it began raining again.

With Tuesday’s forecast in mind, Smith said tee times were moved up an hour, to 9 a.m. That almost was not enough.

“They played in solid rain,” said Smith of the top groups. Fortunately, he said there was never any lightning, which would have ground the entire event to a halt, 30 minutes per each bolt.

Ahra Ko of North Gwinnett, who had a 79 on the first day of action, improved by seven strokes Tuesday, finishing at 72. Alice Acosta’s scores were 83 and 76, with the third counting score from Lauren Maher, who had an 85 Monday and an 84 Tuesday.

Mill Creek’s strength was in its top two golfers, Tess Davenport and Emma Bell. Davenport’s totals were 74 and 75 and Bell’s two days were 76 and 78. Georgia Stonecypher, the third counting player, had scores of 86 and 95.

Lambert might have had a chance to repeat as champion, had it not been for a disqualification Monday.

A Lady Longhorn’s score was thrown out because of a scoring issue.

Smith said she had an “unplayable lie.” She was supposed to drop a ball back in a sand trap, but dropped it outside.

“You cannot improve your lie,” said Smith.

Lambert had a 255 on the first day. With the disqualified player back on the greens Tuesday, their score improved to 227. Kate Owens shot a 71 Tuesday, with Sharon Mun contributing a 75 and Rachel Burrell and Morgan Boutwell each finishing at 81.

Smith’s own team was led by Kaysie Harrelson, whose scores were 79 and 76. She finished seventh overall in individual competition.

“Kaysie did well,” he said. “I’m proud of that.”

Smith likewise was happy with the way the tournament went.

“The course held up great,” he said. Even with the frequent rain, he said there was only a 20-minute delay.

“I want to thank Spring Hill,” he said. Smith said the course was shut three days to accommodate the high school teams. Along with the two days of competition, teams had the chance to practice Sunday.

Full team results from the golf championships were: 1st North Gwinnett (479), 2nd Mill Creek (480), 3rd Lambert (482), 4th South Forsyth (488), 5th Roswell (501), 6th Walton (508), 7th Colquitt County (521), 8th Tift County (574), 9th East Coweta (577), 10th Peachtree Ridge (586), 11th North Paulding (593) and 12th Collins Hill (662).