GAINESVILLE -- The halfway point of Monday's round found Lee McCoy frustrated and annoyed.
He hadn't been bad -- the Habersham Central senior was at even par through nine holes in the Big Red Shootout -- he just hadn't been great.
And then it all clicked.
"I was on the 10th tee and I was fed up and tired," McCoy said. "So I just decided, 'OK, it's time to be aggressive.' "
The muted pep-talk touched off fireworks, as McCoy scorched the back nine, shooting a five-under 31 that included five birdies. The round -- using the modified Stableford Points System -- provided McCoy with a tournament-high 46 points and helped Habersham Central to a team-best 143, edging tournament hosts Gainesville by one point to claim the title at Chattahoochee Golf Club.
"Lee's a great player and one of the few around that has that ability to just step on the gas and pull away," Raiders coach Chris Chitwood said of the senior, who will play golf for the University of Georgia. "A 31 on the back nine is just spectacular, but that's the kind of play he's capable of."
Habersham also got strong rounds from Jared Brooks (35), Tanner Batson (32) and Michael Thompson (30), as the Raiders fended off the Red Elephants for their first Big Red title. Defending champ Johns Creek was third with a 139. Of the seven other area programs competing in the 16-team varsity field, North Hall and Jackson County posted the best rounds, finishing with a 123 to tie for sixth overall.
"It takes more than one guy playing well to win a tournament like this," Chitwood said. "The guys had fun today. I think the Stableford system allows guys to be less nervous about having a bad hole and allows them to recover quicker. We've also been getting better as a team each week, and the guys came in relaxed today and got off to a great start."
Of course it was McCoy's finish that had Chattahoochee buzzing, as he birdied holes No. 10, 11, 13, 14 and 15 and recorded par on the other four. (In the Stableford system, double eagles and aces are worth 16 points, eagles eight points, birdies four points, par two points, bogey one point, double bogey or above zero points.)
"I lipped out for an eagle on No. 10, but that really got me going," McCoy said. "I had just been playing mediocre until then. I also made every putt under 10 feet today; I had been struggling with that. Of course the greens were spectacular, so that helped; the course was really beautiful."
Gainesville also enjoyed a strong showing on the picture-perfect day, recording four rounds over 30-plus points.
Jackson Bishop and Pep Brown each fired 37s, while Grant Lasseter carded a 36 and Lawson King a 32.
"We've been playing well so far this season against some great fields; today was the same, we just came up one point short," said Gainesville coach Bryson Worley, whose Red Elephants just missed out on winning their first-ever Big Red trophy. "We want to win, but if we were going to lose, it was good to see Habersham win it. Those guys are loaded, and they're a bunch of great guys too."
Both the Red Elephants and Raiders have an eye on a strong showing at the state level this season, and tournaments like Mondays are designed to pit teams in competition levels similar to those at the penultimate varsity tournament of the campaign.
"Every tournament we play in we face a strong field," Worley said. "A lot of times we're the smallest school in the field, but our goal is to be the best no matter how big the tournament is."
Chitwood says the Raiders have similar aspirations.
"Our goal is to win state (at the Class AAAA level), and I think we've got as good a chance as anybody," Chitwood said. "Johns Creek is the No. 1 ranked team in Class AAAA, and we've hung with them in the last two tournaments."
A player like McCoy, who moved to Habersham from Florida for his senior season, can certainly aid that charge, and the standout feels his best golf is still to come.
"I've been hitting the ball well; I just haven't been scoring like what I'd like," McCoy said. "That's good because I have more to give. Of course it's also bad because I haven't been shooting the scores like I'd like."
McCoy was plenty pleased with Monday's finish, however, and says his team is beginning to play its best golf of the campaign.
"The team's getting fired up; and I think tournaments like this could give us big momentum," McCoy said. "The guys work themselves to the bone, and if we have momentum behind us we're going to be hard to beat."
-- NOTE: Jackson County's Thomas Whitley also totaled a round of 41 during the day.
2012 BIG RED SHOOTOUT
At Chattahoochee Golf Club, Gainesville
(All scores use modified Stableford Points System)
TEAM FINISH
1. Habersham Central, 143
2. Gainesville, 142
3. Johns Creek, 139
4. Milton, 138
5. Westminster, 125
6. North Hall, 123
tie, Jackson County, 123
8. Blessed Trinity, 114
9. South Forsyth, 112
10. White County, 103
11. St. Pius, 102
12. Johnson, 101
13. North Forsyth, 97
14. Lumpkin County, 84
15. Elbert County, 76
16. Riverside Military, 66
Tuesday
March 18th, 2025
7:18AM
