Griffith tied for eighth in AAA state tournament

photo Ooltewah's Samantha Griffith fires at no. 12 green at Bear Trace at Harrison Bay in this file photo.

The trophy ceremony for the Tennessee Class AAA golf tournament will be held before sunset today at Willowbrook Golf Club at Manchester.

The four area golfers participating must move up the leaderboards today if they want to be part of the celebration.

Ooltewah junior Samantha Griffith has the best chance -- but it's a long chance -- to earn a gold medal after she shot a 5-over-par 77 in the first round Tuesday. She's tied for eighth place, six shots behind first-round leader Samantha Gotcher of Clarksville.

"Today was fun even though I didn't do that good," Griffith said via cell phone. "I didn't let the bad holes get to me. I concentrated and I started putting better a little bit later."

Griffith's friend, junior Katie Bishop of Walker Valley, shot a 16-over 88 and faces long odds of earning a medal in her first state tournament without a teammate.

McMinn County junior Cody Housley is long shot to win the boys' top prize. His 2-over 74 has him tied for 14th place. Arjunda Anday of Siegel leads at 68. Future University of Tennessee at Chattanooga golfer Stuart Thomas of Farragut is tied for third at 70.

"I had some ups and downs and it could have been better," Housley said. "The wind was howling and they had the pins set hard. I felt all right about 74.

"My game plan is to shoot lower, and I want to finish in the top 10."

Bradley Central junior Chase Montgmery shot a 76, yet he was content.

"I was pleased with my score today," he said. "It feels like a PGA Tour event. Every putt, every chip, you have more than one or two people cheering for you."

Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP.

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