Christian Academy of Knoxville won the 2026 5Star Preps Masters boys team title Wednesday, July 29, 2026, at Three Ridges Golf Course in Knoxville, Tenn. (Photo by Elliot Walker/5Star Preps)
BY JESSE SMITHEY
First Baptist Academy golfer Alex Green didn’t let the same thing that transpired Tuesday happened again on Wednesday.
And Knoxville Catholic girls golfer Teagan Walker didn’t let a bad day on the greens deter her confidence when she needed it most.
By day’s end, both golfers held 5Star Preps Masters championship flags as winners.
Meanwhile, the CAK boys returned to the winner’s circle once again in the event, as did the Catholic girls.
Here are more details on how the final day of the 9th annual 5Star Preps Masters — presented by Brad Rose Golf — panned out…
Brad Rose Golf Instruction is the proud sponsor of 5Star Preps golf coverage. Brad has sent 100s off to play college golf, as well as instructed PGA Tour champions and U.S. Amateur champions.
FBA’s GREEN RALLIES FOR BOYS WIN;
CAK WARRIORS TAKE TEAM TITLE
First Baptist Academy senior Alex Green won the 2026 5Star Preps Masters boys individual title Wednesday, July 29, 2026, at Three Ridges Golf Course in Knoxville, Tenn. (Photo by Elliot Walker/5Star Preps)
Alex Green couldn’t have asked for a better start to his senior season Tuesday morning. The FBA standout, who helped the Eagles win a 2025 Division II-A state championship, birdied four of his first five holes at host-site Three Ridges Golf Course to snag the early lead at the 5Star Preps Masters.
But mid-round bogeys derailed that momentum, and Green wound up signing for a 1-under-par 71 on Day One — leaving him one shot back of the lead.
On Wednesday, Green chewed up the opening stretch once more, notching birdies on Nos. 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 to soar to 6-under par. And when bogeys popped up on the the par-3 eighth and the par-4 ninth, Green didn’t let his round get away this time.
He bounced back quickly with birdies at Nos. 11 and 12. He offset his bogey at 14 with a birdie on the 17th.
Staying aggressive on Day Two proved key.
“Coach came to me on the eighth tee and said, ‘Keep the foot on the pedal,'” Green said. “I had a couple of bogeys but knew I had to keep the foot on the pedal and keep it going.
“Came back and made a few birdies after that and just tried to keep giving myself opportunities.”
Green finished the 36-hole event at 6-under 138, giving him a five-shot win over Maryville junior Wil Huddleston, who jumped from a tie for third after the first round into a solo-second finish thanks to a closing round of 71.
Huddleson shot a closing-nine 33 that featured an eagle on the par-5 12th.
CAK sophomore Aiden Cooper (74-70) and Hardin Valley Academy senior Sam Stiles (75-69) tied for third at 144.
CAK junior Tyler Stafford shot 73-72 to finish fifth. Day One leader, CAK freshman Ryan Miller, carded rounds of 70 and 76 to tie for sixth — helping the Warriors regain the 5Star Preps Masters team title for the first time since winning it for a fifth consecutive year in 2022.
CAK finished this week’s event at 17-over 593, which cleared second-place HVA by 9 shots and third-place FBA by 10.
CATHOLIC’S TEAGAN WALKER WINS SOLO TITLE;
LADY IRISH ALSO TAKE TEAM TITLE
Knoxville Catholic senior Teagan Walker won the 2026 5Star Preps Masters girls individual title Wednesday, July 29, 2026, at Three Ridges Golf Course in Knoxville, Tenn. (Photo by Elliot Walker/5Star Preps)
Teagan Walker had the regroup of all regroups Wednesday en route to her individual 5Star Preps Masters championship.
Walking off the green at the par-5 second, the Knoxville Catholic senior penciled down a quadruple-bogey 9, which followed her opening bogey.
Her first-round lead was all but gone.
When Walker birdied the par-5 12th, though, her game returned to form and she shot 2 under on the closing six holes to wind up in a tie for the lead with Greeneville senior Brylee Catron at 9-over 153 for the event.
Catron, who helped Greeneville win a TSSAA Division I-A state championship last fall, started strong Wednesday, opening with birdies at Nos. 1 and 3. She birdied the 17th and parred 18 to sign for a final-round, 3-over 75.
Walker shot 78 Wednesday, admittedly not having her best stuff on the greens.
But when faced with a 30-footer for birdie on the second playoff hole against Catron, she summoned the confidence to make it for the win.
“I just knew that I needed to focus on that one shot. It was me and the ball. Not worry about what other people are doing or who all was watching,” Walker said. “I just knew I needed to do that and perform well.
“(The putt) was pretty flat, but it was breaking right to left. I was just like, ‘Get it there. Don’t leave it short.’ Give it the opportunity to go in.”
The Knoxville Catholic Lady Irish won the 2026 5Star Preps Masters girls team title Wednesday, July 29, 2026, at Three Ridges Golf Course in Knoxville, Tenn. (Photo by Elliot Walker/5Star Preps)
Walker’s teammate Linzy Johnson, who is also a senior, finished third at 155. She fired rounds of 77 and 78 this week.
Greeneville’s Kamryn Renner (77—160) finished fourth while CAK’s Landrie Lane (78—162) and HVA’s Rylee Taylor (83—162) tied for fifth.
Walker and Johnson combined for a two-day winning mark of 20-over 308, good enough to clear second-place Greeneville by five and third-place CAK by 20.
Catholic claimed its second-ever 5Star Preps Masters team win, the first having come in 2020.
The Lady Irish hope a state title is in the cards for them here in a few months. They were just three strokes away from winning it all last season.
“It was definitely tough. We all took it hard,” Walker said. “But it made us want to work more and get better to come into this season, so we can hopefully get it this year.”
5STAR PREPS MASTERS (2026) FINAL ROUND PHOTOS, powered by Brad Rose Golf