Area high school golfers competed in the TSSAA Division I-A and Division II-A State Golf Tournament on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, at Sevierville Golf Club. (Photo by Tanner Walker/5Star Preps)
BY JESSE SMITHEY
A couple of defending state champions have work to do if they are to win TSSAA state golf championships on Tuesday.
And one area team is sailing into new waters heading into the final round.
Here are the big takeaways from Monday’s opening round of the Division I-A and Division II-A girls’ and boys’ tournaments at Sevierville Golf Club…
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LADY RAMS LEAD
The Grace Christian Academy girls’ golf team posted a first-round, 26-over 166 Monday to take a four-shot lead into the final round of the Division II-A state tournament. The other five teams in the field aren’t far behind. USJ (170) and CAK (171) were in second and third place while Evangelical Christian School (175) and Webb-Bell Buckle (179) rounded out the scores.
USJ’s Oakley Blankenship and ECS’s Mathile Walker each shot 74 to top the individual leaderboard.
Grace’s Lydia Walker and Leah Rowe signed for rounds of 82 and 84, respectively, to land in fifth and a tie for sixth.
Grace is seeking its first-ever girls golf state championship.
FBA BOYS
FLIRTING WITH REPEAT
The First Baptist Academy Eagles boys golf team captured the 2025 Division II-A TSSAA State Championship on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, at Sevierville (Tenn.) Golf Club.
First Baptist Academy won its first-ever boys golf championship a season ago.
And the expectation for this fall’s team was to repeat.
The Eagles enter Tuesday’s final round of the Division II-A state tournament well within striking distance of the lead.
Though Jackson Christian School sat atop the leaderboard after Day One at 14-over 302, FBA was just two shots back.
Alex Green and Max Green led FBA with rounds of 71 and 74, respectively. Luke McGhee (78) and Brady Morris (81) rounded out FBA’s 304 mark.
CAK, which has a rich history of Division II-A state titles, is squarely in the mix, as well.
The Warriors were in third place at 306, just four shots off the lead. Tyler Stafford paced CAK with an opening-round 71. Roddy Sturgeon (77), Ryan Miller (79) and Aiden Cooper (79) helped the Warriors stay close.
GREENEVILLE GIRLS
NEED SECOND-DAY CHARGE
Greeneville’s girls won the 2025 Class A state tournament and returned the same lineup for this week. (Photo by Tanner Walker/5Star Preps)
The 2026 Class A state tournament was billed to be a rematch of Greeneville vs. Murfreesboro Central, two teams that returned their lineups from a dramatic 2025 playoff battle that decided the state championship.
But defending state champion Greeneville and Murfreesboro Central have much to do in Tuesday’s final round if either want to get into contention.
Greeneville sat in fourth place at 15-over 155 and Murfreesboro Central in a tie for sixth (159), as Summertown enjoyed the first-round lead at 10 over 150.
Alcoa’s girls positioned themselves well at 16-over 156, good enough for fifth place.
The good news: the deficits aren’t too large to overcome.
Brylee Catron led Greeneville on Monday with a 6-over 76 while Kamryn Renner’s 79 helped comprise Greeneville’s 155 mark.
Alcoa’s Sophia Parsons and Ella Stone each shot 78 to keep the Lady Tornadoes in the hunt.
DeKalb County’s Chloe Boyd led the Division I-A girls field with a 3-over 73. Catron’s 76 placed her in a tie for sixth.
GREENEVILLE GUYS
CLOSE TO THE LEAD
Greeneville’s boys golf team will enter the final round of the Division I-A State Tournament facing only a four-shot deficit.
Signal Mountain held the first-round lead at 17-over 305. Greeneville was tied for fourth with Liberty Creek. Anderson County was eighth at 318.
Three players shared the individual lead on Monday at 1-under 71: Ethan Bradley (McKenzie), Jarrett Harrison (Dyer County) and Jacob Ragan (Madison Magnet).
Anderson County’s Luke Baldwin was the only area boys player in the top 10 on the Division I-A leaderboard.
Landon Aldridge, who’s tied for 15th, led Greeneville with a 76.
Stone Memorial’s Parker Beck shot 77 and was tied for 19th.