Jan. 23 began like every other school day at Marshall County (Ky.) High School for freshman Jay Nimmo. Small talk about basketball, or his promising golf career, or perhaps a test.
But at 7:57 CST that Tuesday morning, that all changed in the most horrific of ways. A 15-year-old student began firing a pistol he’d brought from home. Widespread panic ensued. Two other 15-year-old students – Preston Ryan Cope and Bailey Nicole Holt – were killed. Eighteen others ages 14 to 18 were injured either by gunfire or attempting to escape.
“I just ran,” Nimmo, also 15, said Thursday as he recalled the nightmare in the small town of Benton, Ky. “It was surreal. It was unforgettable, in a very bad way.”
Nimmo already was set for a very different surreal place this Easter morning – atop the lush fairways of Augusta National Golf Club, competing in the finals of the Drive, Chip & Putt competition thanks to the regional Nimmo won at The Honors Course in Ooltewah last September.
“I was here two years ago,” he said from Augusta. “It’s an amazing place. You get six shots: two drives, two chips, two putts. I hit my second putt here two years ago from 15 feet on No. 18. I was thinking that a lot of pros would take that putt.”