For Mary Alice Murphy of Lookout Mountain, all the hard work she has
been doing this year with her golf game paid dividends literally down
the road.
In the Southeastern Junior Golf Tour's Willow Creek Junior Golf Classic
outside Knoxville, she fired a 76 Wednesday to win the girls' 15-19
division by four strokes over Kayla Turner of Clarksville.
The rising Girls Preparatory School junior and daughter of Pat and Mary
Margaret Murphy finished with a 153 in the two-day tournament, which
drew competitors from five states to the Willow Creek Golf Club.
"I managed really well," she said. "I wasn't hitting the ball
spectacularly, but I kept my score down."
Murphy, who plays mostly at the Lookout Mountain Golf Club, said she
made a conscious effort at the first of the year to try to increase her
skill level.
"I think it (my golf game) has improved a lot over the last couple of
months," she said. "Since about February, I have really buckled down."
Murrphy's increased focus might soon bring the focus of college coaches
as well, but she said she is not worried about that right now.
"I am just sort of approaching that area," she said with a smile.
For the immediate future, she hopes to do well in the Tennessee Women's
Amateur next week at the Honors Course.
Among the other Chattanooga area golfers in her division, Kaleigh
Toole had an 84-84 to tie for sixth, while Rachel Mason shot a 92-86 to tie for 11th.
In the male 16-19 division among the local golfers, Austin Bingham
finished 20th with a 77-78, Michael Gephart came in 21st with an
83-75, Kyle Wittler had an 81-79 to tie for 24th, and Trip Wilson
finished at 79-83.
jcshearer2@comcast.net