Trion Golfers Finish Sixth At State Tourney

By DARRIN SMITH
Sportswriter
The Trion Bulldogs spent the week competing in the State Tournament in Commerce at Double Oaks Golf Course. Although the Bulldogs were playing their best golf down the stretch, they couldn’t keep the momentum going and finished the tournament in sixth place. Gordon Lee proved to be the team to beat and ran away with the championship winning by 34 strokes over their nearest challenger with a final total of 612 (+36).
The competition was fierce through day one with Gordon Lee grabbing the early lead with an opening round score of 312. The Bulldogs finished day one sitting in sixth with a score of 352 but still within striking distance. Walker Weaver and Gabe Cooper came in with a score of 86 each to lead the team. Noah Hankins shot an 87 and Cooper Malone finished the first day with a 93.
The Bulldogs made a charge in day two shaving 11 strokes from day one to finish with a 341 and tournament total of 693 (+117), one stroke behind fifth place Drew Charter School. Noah Hankins completed the tournament with a 168 (+26) tied for 18th overall to lead the Dogs. Walker Weaver finished with 170 (+28) tied for 20th place, Gabe Cooper came in with a 174 (+30) tied for 26th place, and Cooper Malone shot a 181 (+37) for 36th place.
Amazingly, three competitors finished the tournament one under par. Thad Clark from Schley County, Tucker Windham from Gordon Lee, and Ryan Smith from Lake Oconee Academy tied for first with a total score of 143 (-1).
“It’s always great for the golfers to make it to state no matter what the outcome,” Coach Garrett Brown told The News after the tournament. “We only had four boys for our team, but they were a good close group. They had some weather issues to get through on the second day, but everyone played better than they did on day one. I was proud of how they played and thought it was a great year.”