While it was the boys’ time to shine Monday at Hopkinsville Golf & Country Club, it’s now the girls’ turn to show the 2nd Region what they’re made of.
Teams from around the region head to Hoptown today for the 2nd Region Girls’ Golf Tournament as a trip to Bowling Green and the KHSAA State Tournament is on the line.
Last season, Madisonville-North Hopkins won the team title with a 328 while Owensboro Catholic’s Emma Payne won medalist honors with a 75.
Apollo’s Macey Brown finished second with a 76 while Daviess County’s Holly Holton carded a 79 for third place. Both are back on the course this year and they’re the only two returners that finished in the top six a year ago.
Brown has been on a tear during her junior season and has said throughout the year that a region title and a state championship are in her sights.
Apollo coach Jarrod Carter said staying focused isn’t an issue for Brown because her mind is always on the task at hand and today, that task is a regional title.
“She’s fully aware of the fact that even though her regular season was very successful, a regional championship is a goal of hers,” he said. “I think she’s prepared, she’s about as prepared as she can be for that. She’s been in several big-time tournaments that had a lot of competition and has finished well. A lot of those is you play and figure out where you are at the end of the day but this one is probably going to mean a little more to her.”
Carter said working with Brown isn’t the same as others.
“Macey’s a little different,” he said. “She’s a little more advanced than most players because I treat her like pros are treated.”
For Brown, Carter said it’s all about picking the right number on every shot because that’s what keeps the game simple.
“We want to commit to every shot and commit to the number,” he said. “She’s fantastic with that. She’s very easy to coach.”
Brown tees off at 9:24 a.m. with Hopkinsville’s Cate Blane and University Heights Academy’s Rheagan Lindsey.
The other premier group of the day is off at 10:24 a.m. and that features Daviess County, Owensboro Catholic and Madisonville-North Hopkins.
Lady Panther coach Logan Clark said they played their practice round Sunday then played nine holes Monday evening at Ben Hawes before talking about the job in front of them.
The Lady Maroons ran away from the pack a year ago but Clark said a lot has changed.
“We shot our best score of the year last year and they still beat us by 19 strokes,” he said. “This year, Madisonville has beat us bad a couple times but other than that, we’ve been kind of right there with them.”
Emilee Clark is playing the top spot for DC, and she’ll play with Catholic’s Abby Bahnick.
But the Lady Panther coach said they’ll need more players to deliver than just their No. 1.
“If we want to win as a team, we’re just going to have to execute,” he said. “We need to execute in our groups. I told them not to focus on trying to beat an individual, but I told them we can win the region if we all come together and play our best golf.”
Tee times start at 8:24 a.m. Owensboro tees off at 12:24 p.m.
