OAKWOOD -- It figures to be a good, old-fashioned shootout Tuesday in both the boys and girls team competetion in the final round of the Hall County Championships at Royal Lakes Country Club.
Gainesville holds a slim one-stroke lead over rival North Hall in the boys standings while the Gainesville and West Hall girls are tied after the opening nine holes.
The two-day event is scheduled to conclude at 4 p.m. Tuesday, weather permitting. There is a 60 percent chance of rain early in the day but organizers said they expect to get the final round completed.
In the girls competition, both Gainesville, which has won 10 of the 11 girls Hall County Championships, and West Hall, which has never won the tournament, both fired a 94. Johnson is third at 105, North Hall fourth at 113, Chestatee sits fifth with a 128, and Flowery Branch is sixth at 137. The top two scorers count in the team standings.
Gainesville senior LeAnn Noble leads the individual competition after firing a 43. West Hall's Malorie Smith is second at 46, and fellow Lady Spartans' Natalie Mathias and Olivia Davis are tied for third after shooting identical 48s. Gainesville's Madeline Harr rounded out the top five after finishing with a 51.
For West Hall coach Elaine Wade, her team's surprise showing atop the leader board was a welcome sign.
"We've been working hard to try and build up the program so this is very nice," Wade said. "We were hoping we would play well but I don't know if we expected to be at the top after the first day. We are very, very pleased."
Wade, however, knows that the Lady Spartans will have to up their game even more with a possible championship on the line Tuesday.
"Gainesville is very solid and I think most people expected them to win this," Wade said. "We will have to play very smart (Tuesday). We will have to manage the course. But a big factor will be how we handle our emotions. The girls are very excited so keeping them calm will be a big factor with how we do (Tuesday)."
The Lady Red Elephants suffered a blow in the team standings when freshman Meg Callahan, who was expected to challenge for the individual title, was disqualified for playing a ball from the wrong spot after a drop when she hit a shot out of bounds. Callahan, who shot a 47, will be allowed to play in the final round and count for the team standings on Tuesday.
In the boys tournament, the Red Elephants shot a 153 to North Hall's 154 with surprising Riverside Military Academy in third at 162. Defending champion Johnson is fourth at 167, Flowery Branch is fifth at 170, and West Hall sixth with a 197. Chestatee and East Hall did not field enough players to qualify for the team standings. The top four players for each team count toward the team standings.
The Gainesville boys did it with youth behind freshmen Jackson Bishop and Grant Lasseter, who both shot 38 and sit two shots behind individual leader, North Hall's Ryan Matthews. The Elephants also got a strong showing from senior Will Frankum, who is second after posting a 37.
"I thought it was a good start," Gainesville coach Bryson Worley said. "This is the first tourney we've played in good weather so it's hard to know if we can shoot better. But our freshmen didn't play like freshmen.
"However, you can't win the tournament on the first day. Hopefully we can come back (Tuesday) and play as well, if not better. It's definitely going to be a dogfight the whole way."
After Matthews (36) and Frankum (37) there are six others within three shots of the lead going into the final round. Bishop, Lasseter, and North Hall's Charlie Matthews all sit at 38 with Riverside's Kyle Wilkison and Sam Gentry and Johnson's Luke James all sitting at 39.
Saturday
February 1st, 2025
10:59AM
