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BY DAVE LINK
Their college choices for golf are made.
Catholic senior Harrison Thompson has signed to play for West Virginia, and Halls junior Ethan Whitaker has committed to play for Chattanooga.
They’re in the offseasons now, honing their skills in anticipation of the coming seasons – which includes Whitaker’s final go-around in high school, and Thompson’s collegiate debut.
Coming off outstanding 2022 high school seasons, Thompson and Whitaker are the 5Star Preps Co-Players of the Year.
Here’s a look at what they did, what they’re doing, and what they’re planning next.
THOMPSON: TAKE ME HOME
Knoxville Catholic’s Harrison Thompson takes part in the TSSAA Division II Class AA state tournament at Sevierville Golf Club on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021, in Sevierville, Tennessee. (Photo by Danny Parker)
Thompson had some big moments in the summer, which translated to his college recruitment picking up steam.
Several offers came his way, including one from West Virginia. It was a no-doubter. He committed in late August and signed in November.
“I just played really well this summer, qualified for some good tournaments, played well in some big events,” Thompson said. “I started getting a little bit bigger attention, and it was down to a few schools, but knew I really wanted to go there (to West Virginia). When I got the offer, I was pretty sure that was where I was going.”
Thompson’s summer events included the USGA Junior Amateur in Oregon, where he missed match play by a couple of shots.
“I played all right,” he said or the Oregon trip. “I played really solid, just never got anything good going, which in events that big, you kind of have to get something going and have a really good stretch, but I never did. But I was really happy with how I played, and I feel I learned a lot that week especially.”
Thompson tied for third in the Tennessee State Junior and had a second-place finish in a PGA event.
“I felt like this summer I gained a lot of consistency and was consistently able to keep it under par and manage my game pretty well,” Thompson said.
His momentum carried over to the high school season at Catholic, and into its postseason.
Thompson fired a 69 at Signal Mountain in the Division II-AA East/Middle Region tournament, earning medalist honors.
It was somewhat of a surprise finish for Thompson, who had played a tournament in Nashville the previous week.
“I hadn’t even seen most of the golf course,” he said, “but Monday morning, I just went out and played really solid. I just played really good golf. I had a few mistakes here and there, but for the most part, I played pretty solid and was really happy to get the win there.”
Unfortunately, it didn’t follow him to the Division II-AA state tournament Oct. 6-7 at Sevierville Golf Club.
Thompson posted a 2-over 74 for the opening round, followed by an even-par 72 and finished 2-over 146 for 11th place.
“I was a little disappointed,” he said. “It had been a goal of mine to be a state champion. I didn’t put a whole lot of pressure on myself. I did pretty well in that regard. I just didn’t have it, which was unfortunate, because I did want to get a win that week.”
Thompson’s most recent tournament was early November.
After taking a little time off, Thompson began his offseason work.
“Now it’s just figuring out a schedule for next year,” he said, “and working on some things with my body and just continuing to get better, trying to get a little bit more consistency before I leave for college next year.”
He reports to West Virginia in early August, and when he does, Thompson wants to be on top of his game.
His next tournament is in Orlando in January.
“I’m going to try and monitor it as best I can because I don’t want to be too worn out heading up to West Virginia to start the fall season,” Thompson said. “I’m playing a few events here and there. Once April comes around, I’ll be playing a lot more, but again, this summer, it won’t be near as much golf as last year. I think I was only in Knoxville for 16 days last summer.”
MOCS FIT FOR WHITAKER
Halls’ Ethan Whitaker shot 72 to lead Halls to the TSSAA Region 2-AA tournament title at The Sevierville Golf Club on Monday, Sept. 27, 2021, in Sevierville, Tennessee. (Photo by Danny Parker)
Whitaker committed to Chattanooga about six weeks ago and couldn’t be happier about it.
One reason: the Mocs have eight home courses, including The Honors Course, Council Fire, Lookout Mountain, and Black Creek.
“I really liked the head coach, Blaine Woodruff, and assistant Nick Robinson,” Whitaker said, “and their home courses down there, you can’t really beat it. It’s the best courses I think in the state.”
Like Thompson, Whitaker stayed busy during the summer with golf.
Among his events, Whitaker played the Southern Junior in Charleston and made the cut; played the Bubba Conlee in Millington and lost in a three-way playoff on the third hole; and played in the Tennessee Junior Cup hosted by Scott Stallings.
“It was a pretty good summer,” Whitaker said.
His junior season at Halls was better than pretty good.
Whitaker shot 67 and earned medalist honors in the Region 2-AA tournament at Green Meadows, defying his mindset going into the event.
“Honestly, leading up to that tournament, my swing kind of felt all over the place,” he said, “I wasn’t feeling super confident, and it was the day after I got back from Junior Cup, and I didn’t really play all that great (at the Junior Cup).”
All that changed when he teed off. He shot 31 on the front nine, and if not for a double-bogey final hole, would’ve had an even better round.
“I just caught fire on the front nine and finally found my game, and it all just came together for a day,” Whitaker said. “I made a 6 on the last hole after being bogey-free, 7-under through 17 holes. I hit one bad shot and it kind of cost me.”
Whitaker said he didn’t hit it great in the Oct. 6-7 Class AA state tournament at Sevierville Golf Club – especially the first day.
He opened with a 3-over 75, followed by a 71, and finished 2-over 146 and tied for 11th place.
“I kind of got it together the second day and posted a red number,” Whitaker said, “but the first day, I just didn’t hit it great and didn’t hit the putts I needed to hit to play well.”
Whitaker has ramped up his workouts this offseason compared to recent years.
“I’ve been getting in the gym a little bit, which I haven’t really done in the past few offseasons,” he said. “I’m doing that a little bit more, and it’s really just working on fundamentals for me in the winter; not a whole lot of playing rounds of golf, just really working on my fundamentals and keeping all that sharp.”
Whitaker is currently putting together his 2023 schedule.
He’s applied for the Sea Pines Juniors in Hilton Head, South Carolina, and the Dustin Johnson Juniors in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, which are the two earliest potential tournaments on his schedule.
Wherever he starts, Whitaker plans to be ready after the offseason.
“I just want to become the best ball striker I can be and become the best putter I can be inside of 10 feet,” he said. “If I can be really, really solid from inside 10 feet and hit 14 greens a round, I feel like I’ll be in a really good spot with my game.”