Halls High School junior Lauren Davis watches her tee shot on Friday, July 28, 2023, at Three Ridges Golf Course in Knoxville during the first round of the Sixth Annual 5Star Preps Masters presented by Brad Rose Golf Instruction. (Photo by Tanner Walker).
BY JESSE SMITHEY
Halls High School junior Lauren Davis watched her eagle chip track towards the hole on the 17th green Friday afternoon at Three Ridges Golf Course, and the longer the ball stayed its course the more it coaxed Davis into changing her mind.
Initially, she just hoped her third shot at the par-5 would settle somewhere within a small radius of the cup.
Then the ball dropped in for a 3.
“I hit a really good drive. I decided (for my second shot) to pull my 3-wood and get it down there. I was right next to that (green) front bunker (for my third shot). I wasn’t in it,” Davis said.
“I hit the chip and I’m just thinking, ‘Get it close and up and down for birdie.’ It just kept rolling, and I’m like, ‘Oh, that might be good.’ Then it goes in, and I’m like, ‘OK, I guess that’s the round today.”
That score took her round from good to really good in a hurry.
Davis parred the last and signed for a 4-under 68, which was one of her lowest rounds of the summer and also helped her post a three-shot lead after the first round of the sixth annual 5Star Preps Masters presented by Brad Rose Golf Instruction.
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No stranger to the leaderboard in this event, Davis finished third in it as a freshman in 2021 and runner-up last season.
If she’s to finish it off this year, she’ll have to fend off good friend and Kingston senior Brylee Crouse (71). The two teamed together this summer to win the The Scotty at Oak Ridge Country Club.
“I think I’m very motivated. I’ve gotten close before,” Davis said. “But I’d like to play well tomorrow. And even if I don’t, it doesn’t diminish anything I did today.
“But I’d also really like to get that team win for Halls.”
Halls led the girls’ team competition at 2-over 146, as Madison Miller complemented Davis’ day with a round of 78.
Kingston (148) and CAK (149) are nearby. Tennessee Tech commit Kailey Lane shot 77 to pair with Crouse’s 71 and to put Kingston within striking distance as a team.
CAK freshman Grady Thomas, an All-5Star Preps First Team selection in 2022 as an eighth-grader playing on varsity, landed in third place Friday after an opening-round of 74. Her CAK teammates, Isabella Coughlin and Alexis Fishel, were right behind her, respectively, in fourth and fifth place. Coughlin, a sophomore, shot 75. Fishel, a junior, carded a 76.
Gibbs’ Brook Farmer came in late with a 3-over 75 and tied Coughlin for fourth heading into Saturday.
FULL FIELD SCORES … CLICK HERE.
DAY ONE PHOTOS … VIEW HERE.
BOYS DIVISION
The CAK boys have won the 5Star Preps Masters every year of its existence, from 2018-2022.
The Warriors lead once again heading into Saturday’s final round.
CAK posted a 4-over-292 team mark to sit atop the perch after Round One, five shots clear of Bearden (297) and 12 clear of third-place First Baptist Academy.
Leading the way for CAK is Cooper Russell, the junior who nearly won the 2022 TSSAA Individual Championship in Division II-A. Russell fell in a playoff last fall for that solo title. Still, he shot 74 and 73 in the 2022 state tournament and led CAK to its sixth consecutive state team title.
On Friday, Russell found similar championship form, pocketing birdies on his first three holes at Three Ridges to jumpstart his round. He birdied the 17th and ultimately signed for a 3-under-par 69, which tied Oak Ridge’s Jack Bentz for the individual lead.
Bentz got it to 4 under but bogeyed the 18th.
Bearden senior Jaden Morrell reached 4 under through seven holes Friday but wound up turning in a round of 72.
All told, 19 players are within five shots of the boys’ lead; Russell and Bentz don’t have much breathing room heading into the final round.
Five players are at 2-under 70, including: FBA senior Cooper Roberts, Hardin Valley sophomore Conner Williams, Maryville Apostolic sophomore Collin Keino, Morristown West junior Grayson Smith and Farragut senior Owen Queener.
Four more — Central senior Drew Bolton, CAK junior Bryson White, Berean Christian junior Landon Dyer and Grace Christian junior Jacob Rose —are two shots back after rounds of 71. Bolton, a Tennessee Tech commit, birdied four of his final seven holes to get into contention.
FULL FIELD SCORES … CLICK HERE.
5STAR PHOTOS: Day One of the 2023 5Star Preps Masters presented by Brad Rose Golf Instruction