The two-week dead period mandated by the TSSAA has ended and the Warren County High School golf teams are ready to hit the greens.
The start of golf season is just two weeks away on Monday, July 26. That’s when WCHS golfers will travel to Golden Eagle Golf Club at Tennessee Tech for a three-way match against Cookeville and White County.
Sure to grab headlines this year is sophomore sensation Lauren Slatton, the lone female golfer for the Lady Pioneers. Slatton was the only WCHS golfer to qualify for the state tournament last year, grabbing a 12th-place finish.
“She was the highest finishing freshman at the state tournament,” said Warren County golf coach J.W. Holt. “She’s been playing a lot this summer and putting in her work. She will have high expectations this year.”
The good news for Lady Pioneer golf is Slatton should be one of the top golfers in all of Tennessee. The bad news is there’s just one of her.
Warren County High School doesn’t have another female golfer. That means Slatton will be able to compete individually, but not as a team because it takes at least two female golfers to form a team.
“We had our fingers crossed someone else would come along, but it didn’t happen,” said Holt.
The WCHS boys team does not have a senior, but there are six juniors who all return from last season. That group includes Chase Newby, who surged last year as a sophomore and has been playing a lot of golf this summer, according to coach Holt.
The junior class also includes Sawyer Seymour, Isaac Cantrell, Jax King, Alec Johnson and Chase Boley.
Rounding out the team is sophomore Logan Cantrell and freshmen Lincoln Sain, Jake Whinnery, Hayven Jones and Matthew Crim.
Five players compete on a boys high school golf team with the top four scores counting toward the team score.
“Chase will likely be our No. 1 player and Sawyer should be right up there,” said Holt. “After that, we’ll see. It will depend on who is performing best.”
Practice begins this Monday at McMinnville Country Club. Holt says the upcoming days will include a couple rounds of 18 holes and a qualifier round to get official scores for all players. From there Holt will go about setting his lineup for the opener.
After the match at Tennessee Tech on July 26, WCHS will play later that week on July 29 in Tullahoma. The first home match is scheduled for Aug. 2 against Stone Memorial.
