Susan Thurman, far right, joins local girls' high school golf coaches and players to announce grants made to seven high school girls' golf programs by the CWGA
photo by Contributed
The Chattanooga Women’s Golf Association has a history of generosity when it comes to supporting local golf. The organization that features a roster of more than 100 active members who compete throughout the summer decided this year to expand their benevolence.
The CWGA has made a habit of making annual donations to the local First Tee program as well as the women’s golf program at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. But this year, the organization decided to expand their charitable footprint by making $500 donations to seven local public schools that offer girls’ golf programs.
The recipients of CWGA’s kindness included Ooltewah, Hixson, Soddy Daisy, Sale Creek, East Hamilton, Signal Mountain and CSAS, and the donations are to be used to help offset expenses in operating their programs.
The initiative was led by CWGA member Susan Thurman, who knows a thing or two about stretching dollars when it comes to high school athletics. As a member of multiple halls of fame after serving 40 years as a coach and athletic director at Red Bank High School, Thurman has had a front-row seat to the challenges of funding non-revenue sports for girls.
Thurman’s volleyball teams won 778 matches over 25 years, and she also coached basketball, softball and track - never having a losing season in any sport and reaching the state tournament in each sport.
“Having been a high school coach myself and athletic director, I knew the hardships of non-revenue sports,” said Thurman, who retired in 2010. “One of the purposes of the CWGA is to promote women's golf. We were having a meeting discussing new ways for us to donate money, and I proposed the idea to support the public high school girls’ golf teams. Well, they jumped all over that and liked the idea.”
The funds are raised through entry fees and dues charged by CWGA to its members, but many of the women involved choose to give even more thanks their passion for promoting golf among local girls. In addition to their city tournament and weekly competitions, the hallmark of the CWGA is one of generosity and making a difference.
The greatest joy for Thurman was when she contacted the coaches at the seven schools to inform them of the CWGA’s plans.
“I told someone it was almost like I was Ed McMahon knocking on your door to tell you that you just won a million dollars,” Thurman said. “They were all so grateful and so thankful for any help that we could do.”
Local Golfers Qualify for Tennessee State Open
Five Chattanooga area golfers were among the 14 to advance to the Tennessee State Open at a one-day qualifier held at Three Ridge Golf Course in Knoxville on Thursday.
Cade Puryear of Cleveland Country Club and Oliver Simonsen of The Honors Course tied for second at 1-under 71, three shots behind medalist Jackson Hughey of Willow Creek Golf Course.
Also earning a berth to the tournament scheduled for July 9-11 at Tennessee Grassland’s Foxland Course in Gallatin were Council Fire duo Tucker Wick, who finished 6th with an even par score of 72, and Joshua Mauk, who tied for 9th along with Cleveland Country Club’s Jonas Rayfield with scores of 1-over 73.
Incoming UTC Freshman Rogers Finishes 3rd At Western Junior
Evan Rogers, part of a stellar class of newcomers who will be competing for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga starting this fall, was among a trio of Mocs who fared well at the prestigious 107th Western Junior Championship in Iowa this week.
The native of Duluth, Ga. finished third overall with a three-day total of 5-under-par 211, two shots behind winner Trevor Gutschewski of Omaha, Neb. After opening with rounds of 70-73, Rogers closed with a round of 68 that featured birdies on five of his last six holes – including four straight to complete his loop.
Another pair of incoming freshmen for head coach Blaine Woodruff’s squad also had strong showings. Former East Hamilton High School standout Griffin Law finished in a tie for 16th with rounds 70-72-75 with a final score of 1-over 217, while Conner Brummitt of Abingdon, Va. earned a tie for 25th at 3-over 219 with rounds of 71-71-77.
Former McCallie Star Whitfield Part of Revamped UTC Roster
After graduating four seniors from last year’s roster, Blaine Woodruff has reloaded his UTC roster with a bevy of talent in addition to his three freshman signees Evan Rogers, Griffin Law and Conner Brummitt.
Most notable among those is former McCallie School star Thad Whitfield, who competed at MTSU his freshman season. Also recently joining the Mocs is fellow sophomore and University of Georgia transplant Billy Abdow.
The Mocs will return redshirt sophomore Ward Harris, who sat out last year with an injury after a strong freshman campaign. Harris will be joined by fellow sophomores Aidan Cohl, who transferred mid-year from Ole Miss, and Ethan Whitaker.
The youthful roster lists no seniors next season, and juniors Camden Braidech, Dalton Burts, and Elliott Simonsen will be the veterans on the squad. Braidech qualified for the NCAA regionals last spring as an individual, while Burts recently captured the Yellowhammer Invitational in Alabama in a playoff.
Tennessee Golf Leaders Record Pair of Aces at Sweetens Cove
One of the special events on the Tennessee PGA Section calendar each year is Operation 24 at Sweetens Cove, a unique 24 hours of continuous golf under portable lighting to give back to local veterans through the PGA HOPE program.
The outing last Monday featured morning play by PGA HOPE graduates, followed by full afternoon and evening flights as a fundraising effort for the organization. While all this is ongoing, area PGA professionals took shifts to keep a ball in play for 24 straight hours at the popular South Pittsburg course, although a wave of storms forced a temporary suspension of play late at night.
The evening was even more special for a couple of members of the Tennessee golf leadership team on hand for the event. Tennessee PGA Executive director Clayton Hromadka recorded his first career hole-in-one on the fourth hole named “King” in honor of the late Baylor School coach King Oehmig. Three hours later, Tennessee Golf Foundation Director of Communication Darren Reese equaled Hromadka’s feat with an ace of his own on hole No. 9.
Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com
Darren Reese, left, and Clayton Hromadka celebrate their separate hole-in-ones at the Operation 24 event at Sweetens Cove
photo by Contributed