The last thing East Hamilton’s Tyson Venable thought he would be doing on the 18th hole Thursday in the District 5-AAA high school golf tournament at The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay would be hitting with his 4 iron twice. But he did.
The first didn’t go so well, which is why he felt he needed to swing it again. The second put his ball a little in front of the green, and he got up and down for par from there and won the boys’ individual championship by one stroke after shooting 71, matching girls’ medalist Kelsey Cassada for the only rounds under par.
Walker Valley swept the team titles with the boys edging McMinn County 318-319. The Lady Mustangs at 153 finished 15 shots ahead of runner-up Bradley Central.
The top three team advance to the Region 3 tournament, also at Harrison Bay, next Thursday, as do the top five boys and girls not on those teams.
Walker Valley’s Parker Gray was boys’ runner-up and gave Venable a strong challenge. Venable saw Gray, playing in the group in front of him, sink his birdie putt on No. 18.
“I knew Parker was 1 over going into the last hole,” Venable said.
Venable’s chip on his third shot went past the hole.
“I had about a 6-footer,” he said of his putt coming back. “I said to myself, ‘If I can make this putt, I can walk off from here the winner.’ It was pretty nerve-racking, that last putt.”
Gray, who made six birdies in his round, was the boys’ leader at the turn with 34. But Venable, who was at 37 after the front nine, shot 34 on the back and gained four strokes coming in.
“On hole nine I hit a poor tee shot,” Venable said. “Then I hit a really good one over the trees and ended up making par. That really boosted my confidence. I followed that up with three birdies on 10, 11 and 12.”
With the exception of a bogey on No. 14, Venable parred in from there.
Cassada posted the lowest nine-hole score of all the golfers with a personal-best 3-under 33 on the back nine. She ended up four strokes ahead of the runner-up, Soddy-Daisy’s Jayla Sims.
“I had all of my game going for me today,” Cassada said.
Cassada is a long hitter but also dropped some 15- to 20-foot putts during a stretch when she birdied Nos. 12 through 15. She’s happy the region tournament is on the same track.
“I like it a lot out here,” Cassada said. “It’s a long course. It fits better for me than probably most of the girls out here.”
The Lady Mustangs got their winning total by combining Cassada’s score with Whitney Kincaid’s. Her 82 was eight shots better than what she shot in the City Prep tournament on the same course Sept. 7.
“That’s a good round,” Walker Valley coach Bob Williams said. “Her driver was a lot better today.”
In addition to Gray, Walker Valley’s boys also had a top-five finish from Nick McCracken (76), who was medalist in the region tournament last year at Lake Tansi.
“It’s not really surprising Nick came in with a 76,” Williams said. “As our three man, he helped us big time. I’m proud of our guys. That’s back to back for us. This year it was a little tougher. We won by one stroke. McMinn played really tough today, too.”
The other boys with top-five finishes were McMinn County’s Matt Mays, who was third at 74, and Bradley Central’s Gage Brakebill, who was next at 75. Brakebill is also one of the individual qualifiers for the region tournament.
The others are his teammates, Alex Kyle and Tyler Ferguson, and Cleveland’s Allen Swetman and Drew Linkous.
District 6-AAA
At Dayton Golf & Country Club, Cookeville’s boys shot 299 and White County’s girls totaled 169 on the way to the District 6-AAA championships.
The top three teams move on to the Region 3 tournament next Thursday at The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay. Rhea County’s boys (342) and girls (216) narrowly missed qualifying for the region, both finishing fourth.
Rhea’s Russell Green qualified as an individual with his 82 on Thursday. Lesley Green and Chirsten Sneed qualified for the Lady Eagles.
Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com