Central golf coach Tony Patterson and four-time state qualifier Alyssa Montgomery. (Photo: Tony Patterson on Twitter).
Central High School golfer Alyssa Montgomery was primed to make one last run at an elusive state championship.
She never got a chance.
Horrid weather and wretched course conditions forced cancellation of the final round of the Division I-Large Class TSSAA State Golf Championships on Wednesday.
By TSSAA rule, the final results of the tournament revert back to the last-completed 18-hole round, which was Tuesday.
Montgomery, who shot a 3-under-par 69 to stand in third place after Tuesday’s opening round at WillowBrook Golf Club in Manchester, Tenn., said the course was a mess Wednesday morning.
“There were, like, rivers running across the fairways and water pooled on the greens,” said the Virginia Tech commitment.
An individual state championship was one of the few honors that eluded Montgomery during her high school career.
She trailed only Alabama commitment Isabella Van der Biest (67) of Dobyns-Bennett and Station Camp’s Lynn Lim (68) after Tuesday’s opening round.
Montgomery’s 69 was her best round by two shots in her four years at the state tournament.
She previously finished seventh, tied for fifth and sixth at the state tournament.
“It is kind of disappointing to only play one round after I had such a good day on Tuesday,” said Montgomery.
“I could have easily gone 6- or 7-under.”
Central coach Tony Patterson was crestfallen that Montgomery didn’t get a final shot at a state championship.
“I knew when I got up Wednesday it wasn’t going to be pretty,” said Patterson.
“The weather was only fitting for ducks – it was awful. It was very disappointing for her, and for me, to have to see her go through this.
“Obviously, the ultimate goal at the high school level is to win a state championship – and we felt really good about her if she had a chance to play for it.”
Patterson also announced he was stepping down as Central coach on Wednesday.
He called coaching Montgomery a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“We’ve kind of talked about that the last couple of years and going out when she did,” said Patterson.
“It has been a real special four years. It was not just the golf part of it with her. She’s special on and off the course. I was sad when I left the golf course Wednesday. I got emotional knowing I wouldn’t be going back as her coach.”
Also locally in girls play, Farragut’s Lexanna Halama carded a 73 to tie for fifth.
Tennessee commitment Sheby Liford (74) of Halls was seventh and Catholic’s Kennedy Noe (79) was 13th.
The Lady Admirals claimed fourth in the team race with 155 strokes, trailing state champion Station Camp (146), Houston (150) and Dobyns-Bennett (151).
Aynsleigh Martin (82) followed Halama in scoring for the Lady Admirals.
🚨 Champion Alert 🚨
Admirals @lance_simpson4 had a HUGE day! He ties 🥇for the Individual TSSAA State Championship Title AND committed to play for @Vol_Golf and @CoachWebbUTVols! Congratualations Lance! #GoAds @prepxtra @farragutpress1 @VarsityAllAxs pic.twitter.com/i51MN8kdac— Farragut Golf (@FarragutGolf) September 27, 2018
Farragut’s Simpson shares title
Farragut sophomore Lance Simpson tied for the individual boys’ state championship with University of Tennessee commitment Jackson Skeen of Science Hill.
Both shot 1-under 71s on Tuesday. Simpson added to his big day Wednesday by announcing his commitment to play golf for Tennessee, as well.
Simpson was rock solid throughout his round with three birdies and two bogeys.
“Lance asked a lot of questions and did a lot of preparation going into Tuesday,” said Farragut coach Kathryn Nagy.
“He did his due diligence and came in knowing what he had to do to get the job done. He played smart golf and didn’t take risks.”
Nagy said Simpson was unfazed by the weather and the state tournament hoopla.
“He stayed focused and never deviated from that,” she said. “Lance has been like that all year. He had a focus.”
Farragut’s boys placed second in the team race with a 16-over 304.
That was well behind highly regarded Science Hill (291), which lived up to its billing as tournament favorites.
The Admirals’ Steven Haremski, an MTSU commit, and Chad Homan each fired 77s and tied for 21st place. Carson-Newman commitment Antonio Farinella recorded a 79 for the Admirals.
Despite the disappointment of not playing Wednesday, Nagy said it was a great tournament for Farragut.
“Overall, I’m proud of them,” she said.
“They brought the hardware home and we had a player tie for the championship. Let’s focus on the good.”
Other top finishes by local boys included William Blount’s Nick Etherton (74) who tied for 10th, McMinn County’s Nicholas Thompson (75) who tied for 12th and Carter’s Cooper Hayes (76) who tied for 16th.
Admirals take home 2nd Place at the Large D1 TSSAA State Championship. Assistant Coach Higgins, Hayden Ott, Antonio Farinella, Chad Homan, Connor Price, Lance Simpson, Steven Haremski, Coach Kathy Nagy ❤️⚓️⛳️🏆 #GoAds @prepxtra @5StarPreps @farragutpress1 @kenlay716 pic.twitter.com/0CX0DiuXmp
— Farragut Golf (@FarragutGolf) September 27, 2018