For local prep golfers the postseason got underway on Tuesday at Link Hills Country Club in the District 1-A Qualifying Tournament.
South Greene’s Brennan Gregg led the way on Tuesday by shooting a two-under par 69 and taking home medalist honors. He was the only golfer under par in the tournament.
“I played pretty well today,” Gregg said. “I came out rolling and made a few birdies then finished the day out with pars. I felt like I had a lot of confidence on every putt, and then when I was on the tee box I knew the ball was going down the fairway.”
Gregg is coming off a run to the state tournament a year ago, and Tuesday was the first step in a return trip. He knows that his play will have to stay at a high level moving forward into Thursday’s district tournament and next week’s region tournament.
“I just have to consistently play with the confidence I had today,” Gregg said. “I’m feeling pretty good moving forward. I want to keep moving on, and you have to start somewhere, so I’m pretty happy with today.”
On the girls side it was Greeneville’s Kylee Renner who had the big day. She shot a 73 to take home medalist honors and she helped the Lady Greene Devils capture the team title with a 152.
“I had a rough start, but overall I played okay. I was able to pull it together at the end. It feels great to start the postseason with a win,” Renner said.
The Lady Devils are the reigning Class A State champions and they are looking to bring home gold one more time in a few weeks. Renner feels like Greeneville has the team to do it, but they will all need to be at their best once October rolls around.
“It’s nice to know that we are coming back Thursday on our home course. We just need to stay in a good mental place,” Renner said. “We just have keep practicing and staying focused on the goal. We are all playing pretty well. It seems like if one of us has an off day the other two play really good. It’s really good to have three players who can play well.”
Greeneville’s Brylee Catron was second overall in the girls tournament with a 79.
The Greeneville boys claimed first place as a team as well on Tuesday. Nathan Howlett led that effort by shooting a 75, Carson Waters had a 76, Bryson Ricker 77 and Andrew England 78 for the Greene Devils team score of 306.
South Greene shot a 316 as a team to finish in second place and advance to Thursday’s District 1-A Tournament. Gregg shot a 69, Kennan Hankins turned in a 75, Cameron Kinser had an 86 and Mitchell Landers had an 86.
Cherokee was third with a 337. Jackson Davenprt shot an 81, Porter Owen 85, Titus Martin 85, and Isaiah Jones 86.
For West Greene Thomas Cogsdell shot an 85 and Marcus Crisp shot a 91. Both advanced to the district tournament as individuals.
Volunteers’ Brock Mowell (81) Colton Miller (87) and JJ Franklin (89) also advanced as individuals.
On the girls’ side Volunteer was second as a team with a 183. Baelyn Rose shot an 83 and Payton Justice shot a 100.
Chuckey-Doak was third with a 188 team score. Harley Thompson shot an 87, Alexis Demming had a 101, and Addilyn Boesch a 115.
South Greene’s Khloe Laws shot a 96 and North Greene’s Kylie Listek shot a 127, both advanced to the district tournament.
The District 1-A Tournament will be held on Thursday at Link Hills.
