Central Georgia teams, players to be in hunt for GHSA golf titles
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
Defending champion Carol Pyon hopes to end her high school career in style, with another individual title and perphaps a team title for the Rutland girls golf team.
Mercer-bound Pyon, the Hurricanes and the rest of the GHSA qualifers tee off in the GHSA state golf tournament Monday morning in a two-day, 36-hole event.
The various state tournaments will be held at several different clubs, none in Central Georgia.
Weather interrupted the 2017 tournaments, and some classes only got in one round. There's a fair chance for that to happen again this year, with rain expected throughout the state daily for the next few days, perhaps maybe only in the form of a passing thunderstorm.
Pyon's sister Eujin tied for fourth last year.
FPD's boys won the Class A Private tite last year and enter after a second-place finish in the area tournament. Luke Dasher returns after taking second last year, as does Wilson Andress (tied for fifth), Jay Spivey (tied for 12th) and Reid Wilson (tied for 24th).
Veterans' girls finished second last year in the 5A state tournament, led by a seventh-place Mailey Buzzell and 10th-place Alyssa Julien, both of whom are back. Buzzell was the medalist in the area tournament.
Hawkinsville's boys were third in Class A public boys a year ago, and will again be led by Hunter Dokey (tied for fifth in 2017) and Dalton Cross (tied for 17th).
Bleckley County's girls tied for fourth in 2A, and return both Brooke King (tied for fourth in state last year) and Dawson Greer (tied for 16th). Stratford's girls were fifth in A Private, topped by returnee Josie Coleman's tie for third.
Houston County's Brent Hamm, who signed recently with Troy, finished tied for second in 2017 and was medalist in the area tournament this year.
Bleckley County's Michael Clardy was the area medalist in 2018 and finished tied for 19th in state last year.
Jones County's Johnson tied for 19th in 2017 as the Greyhounds qualified as a team.
Veterans girls won the Area 1-5A qualifier by 23 strokes over South Effingham, and the Warhawks boys qualified in a tight boys area tournament. Rutland's girls took the Area 1-3A championship by 83 strokes.
Houston County's boys finished second, by a stroke, behind Glynn Academy in the Area 1-6A tournament.
Central Georgia state golf qualifiers
Class 6A: Houston County boys and girls, Northside's AJ Jackson in individual girls
Class 5A: Jones County's Nic Johnson in individual boys; Veterans boys and girls
Class 4A: Perry, Mary Persons, and West Laurens boys; Howard, Upson-Lee, Mary Persons, and Perry girls
Upson-Lee's Hayden Roberts and Sam Uphold in individual boys, West Laurens' Allison Wallace in individual girls
Class 3A: Rutland girls
Class 2A: Dodge County boys; Dodge County and Bleckley County girls
Class A public: ACE girls; Hawkinsville boys
Class A private: FPD and Stratford boys; Stratford girls; FPD's Sarah Beth Scarborough in individual girls.