A second chance at attending the state tournament starts today for several area northwestern Georgia high school golf teams.
They don't need to win today. They just need to qualify.
For most teams, that requires a finish in the top eight of their respective sectional tournament -- boys or girls. Some teams have more wiggle room; some have less.
The goal remains the same for all -- reach the state event.
"All we have to do is play the game we've been playing all year, and we should be set," said Heritage coach Brian Dodson, who has two aces in his lineup with Ben Rebne and Sport Allmond. "Sport and Ben have been wearing it out all year long."
The Generals are one of six area boys' teams playing today at various courses across Georgia with state berths on the line. Four area girls' teams are chasing the same dream: Gordon Lee in Class AA, Sonoraville and North Murray in AAA and Heritage in AAAA.
"We have a chance to go to state for a third year in a row, which is pretty impressive for our girls' golf team," Gordon Lee coach Charlie Wiggins said. "We graduated Ashley McDonald, who is at Dalton State, so to go back after graduating such a good player would be a feather in the cap.
"We're fairly young with one girl having played golf for three years and another for two in their entire lives."
The boys' Class AAA sectional has three area teams: Coahulla Creek, Gordon Central and Sonoraville. Calhoun won the region championship, which advanced the Yellow Jackets straight to the state tournament, as with LaFayette in AAAA, Gordon Lee in AA and Trion in Class A.
"Monday is very important," Sonoraville coach Mike Farley said. "We have a lot of young guys who have a lot of ability to build our tradition. Sectionals will be a good experience."
Northwest Whitfield and Dalton also will be attempting today to earn trips to Augusta -- the location for all state tournaments.
"We've got our work cut out for us," Dalton coach Hunter Johnston said. "If we play as well as we can with something between 300 and 305, that should definitely get it done.
"The sectional is different from the regional because it's just like a Monday qualifier: All you need to do is get in."
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484. Follow him at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP.