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BY JESSE SMITHEY
Final rounds of golf tournaments simply spawn drama.
And the last day of this week’s sixth annual 5Star Preps Masters presented Brad Rose Golf had its fair share.
Whether it was the girls’ team playoff for the title or the new boys champions that was crowned, Saturday’s second-and-final round of the event had plenty of nail-biting moments.
BEARDEN BOYS CLAIM FIRST 5SP MASTERS
The Bearden High School boys golf team won the 2023 5Star Preps Masters championship on Saturday, July 29, 2023, at Three Ridges Golf Course in Knoxville, Tenn. (Photo by Tanner Walker/5Star Preps).
Since the tournament’s inception and first playing in 2018, the Christian Academy of Knoxville boys golf team has had a stranglehold on the 5SP Masters title. They’ve won it every year and entered Saturday’s final round with a five-shot lead over Bearden.
But the Bulldogs’ lineup didn’t wilt against the six-time defending Division II-A state champions.
Bearden posted a final-round, 1-over-par 289 total Saturday at Three Ridges Golf Course in northeast Knoxville to surge up the leaderboard and into first place.
The team’s two-day total of 10-over 586 edged CAK by one stroke. The Warriors shot 7 over as a team on Day Two.
Bearden’s continued upward trend as a program under coach Tyler Lane took a huge step with the win. Bryce Harmon was the team’s lowest finisher, claiming a tie for sixth at 2-under 142, making a 20-footer for birdie on the last hole. He shot two rounds of 71 in the event.
Teammate and senior Jaden Morrell shot consecutive 72s and finished eighth.
He shot 2 under on the final five holes Saturday, and Harmon closed in 3 under on his final four holes. Gray Loftin (73-75—148, T19) was 1 under on his final seven holes.
“I think this is just validation of a lot of the work the players and parents have put into it,” said Lane. “You don’t just win a tournament like this, today. It takes weeks and months and years. Going back to last season with offseason workouts and drills. It’s just fun.
“I was really proud of Jaden today,” Lane added. “I told him on the 12th hole after he’d made a double on 11 that this may not be your tournament but it can still be our tournament. He turned it on, shot 2 under after that and we needed every shot.”
Bryson White led CAK’s bid with a final-round, 5-under 67. That rocketed him into second place individually at 6-under 138. First-round co-leader Cooper Russell, a junior at CAK, finished tied for 13th after a final-round 78.
FULL LEADERBOARD… CLICK HERE.
Brylee Crouse (left) and Kailey Lane led the Kingston girls’ golf team to a 2023 5Star Preps Masters championship on Saturday, July 29, 2023, at Three Ridges Golf Course in Knoxville, Tenn. (Photo by Tanner Walker/5Star Preps).
KINGSTON GIRLS CLAIM CHAMPIONSHIP IN PLAYOFF
Halls, Kingston and CAK were clear-cut favorites entering the tournament, and they didn’t disappoint.
The CAK girls shot 6-over 150 on Saturday and posted a two-day total of 11 over. But Halls and Kingston wound up one shot better.
The Lady Red Devils and Lady Yellow Jackets each carded 36-hole marks of 10-over 298.
But in the playoff on the par-4 first, Kingston posted two pars while Halls made a par and a bogey.
And that’s how Kingston unseated the defending champion.
FULL LEADERBOARD… CLICK HERE.
Kingston’s Brylee Crouse (left) hugs Halls junior and 2023 5Star Preps Masters champion Lauren Davis on Saturday, July 29, 2023, at Three Ridges Golf Course in Knoxville, Tenn. (Photo by Tanner Walker/5Star Preps).
DAVIS CLOSES OUT WIN IN GIRLS INDIVIDUAL COMPETITION
Halls junior Lauren Davis, who finished third in 2021 and runner-up last year, won her first 5Star Preps Masters.
But it wasn’t quite like she envisioned.
After firing a 4-under-par 68 to lead by three after the first round, Davis’ final round featured more obstacles and adversity.
She began on the back nine Saturday morning at Three Ridges. And after playing six holes, she stood 4 over for the day — a double bogey at the par-5 12th providing the stain on her round and allowing her competition hope for a comeback.
Davis eventually steadied her round and she played her final four holes in even par to finish with a final-round 78.
That turned out to be good enough to post 2-over 146 and top Kingston senior and MTSU commit Brylee Crouse (77—148) by two shots for the title.
“It was pretty difficult. I didn’t get off to the start I wanted,” Davis said. “I kept my head in there, and I just tried to grind it out the best I could and not worry about the end score.
“I knew where the match stood (coming down the stretch),” Davis said. “I was 2-up going into No. 9, and I was just thinking par.”
CAK sophomore Isabella Coughlin took bronze, as her 74 Saturday gave her a 5-over 149 mark.
Kingston senior and Tennessee Tech commit Kailey Lane had low round of the day on the girls’ side with a 73, and that propelled her into a fourth-place finish (6-over 150).
Alexis Fishel (CAK), Madison Miller (Halls), Grady Thomas (CAK) and Brooke Farmer (Gibbs) all tied for fifth (152).
FULL LEADERBOARD… CLICK HERE.
Collin Keino of Maryville Apostolic won the 2023 5Star Preps Masters boys championship on Saturday, July 29, 2023, at Three Ridges Golf Course in Knoxville, Tenn. (Photo by Tanner Walker/5Star Preps).
KEINO RALLIES FOR FIRST 5STAR PREPS CHAMPIONSHIP
Not much foreshadowed that remarkable start Collin Keino, a junior at Maryville Apostolic, had on Saturday.
He slept a little later than he should have.
He didn’t get much of a warm-up session.
And his tee time was 7:30 a.m. off the 10th tee.
So consider him a touch surprised that he birdie his first six holes— yep, Nos. 10-15 — to soar into the lead. He shot a 6-under 30 on the back nine at Three Ridges to create a buzz that reverberated around the course.
“I’ve never birdied six in a row,” he said. “For a minute there, I was rolling — unconscious for a second.”
He then eagled the par-5 second to get to 8 under.
And he held that 8-under mark until a brain lapse at the last. Keino four-putted the ninth green, signed for 6-under 66 and posted 8-under 136 for the early clubhouse lead.
And while, naturally, he was beside himself for his late-round mistake, Keino still left the course Saturday pleased.
He got the win. His 136 total wound up two shots better than CAK’s Bryson White.
“My long game has gotten better. I’ve been working on it a lot,” Keino, a lefty, said. “I have to work more on putting. But over the last couple of years, it’s gotten better. Other than that (at the last hole), I was putting well today.
“It was a good tournament to play.”
Cooper Roberts, a senior at First Baptist Academy, shot another round of 70 and placed third at 4-under 140.
Tennessee Tech commit and Central senior Drew Bolton was fourth (71-70—144). He shot 2 under on his final nine to stay in the top five.
Farragut’s Owen Queener claimed fifth (70-72—142).
First-round co-leader Jack Bentz (Oak Ridge) shot 76 Saturday and tied for ninth.
FULL LEADERBOARD… CLICK HERE.
5STAR PHOTOS: FINAL ROUND of the 2023 5Star Preps Masters presented by Brad Rose Golf Instruction