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Getting ready to make a move

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Franklin County doesn't have one of the top three regional scores going into the girls state golf tournament, and that's fine with FCHS coach Drex Davis.

"We shot 337, and that puts us in the second tier pairings, and I'm very happy with that," Davis said. "On the first day you tee off a little earlier in the day. They should be relaxed, and if we play well we canlmake it to the last pairings on the final day."

The state tournament is being played Tuesday and Wednesday at Bowling Green Country Club. Franklin County tees off from 11:45 a.m.-12:21 p.m. Tuesday and is paired with Lone Oak and Russell County.

The top three teams, based on their regional scores, are Scott County (323), Glasgow (326) and West Jessamine (330).

Franklin County shot 337 in last week's Region 7 tournament at Picadome, finishing second behind defending state champion West Jessamine.

The Lady Flyers placed seventh at last year's state tournament, and four of the five FCHS golfers going to state "Hallie Hardy, Hillary Kell, Erin Marshall and Abby Smith - played in that tournament.

The lone rookie is senior Chloe Bates, who was the alternate at state last year.

"Last year at the state tournament I was the alternate, and walking around I thought what I really, really wanted this year more than anything was to play at state," Bates said. "My goal was to make varsity. I never thought I'd be playing No. 2 at the region. I was surprised, but I worked really hard."

Bates gave up a spot in the Governor's Scholars program this past summer to work on her game.

"I just wanted to focus on golf and have a normal summer before going off to college next year, and it paid off."

Bates was one of four FCHS golfers who shot 86 at the regional tournament, the first of her high school career.

"I was a little nervous, but once I stepped up to the tee I decided to go for it," she said. "My nervousness went away. I hit a pretty good first drive, and I started off with a par. I thought "I can do this.'"

The other seniors going to state this week are Kell and Hardy.

This will be Kell's fourth trip to state, having qualified as an individual her freshman year.

"I definitely wanted to be in the top five," Kell said about her goals for this season. "I usually have been
in the past, but this team is so good I knew I'd have to practice extra hard and try even harder.

Definitely my goal was to be in the top five and do well."

Expectations were high for the Lady Flyers, and they've lived up to them, earning a trophy in all but one of the tournaments in which they've played this season.

"I was pretty confident in the team this year," Kell said, "and I figured it would be pretty easy to live up to what people thought we should do."

"I think there was pressure somewhat, but it was with each other as we fought it out to earn a spot on the team," Bates said. "More than anything it helped us improve. It didn't create a division on the team; it made us closer."

Smith, a sophomore who has played No. 1 for the Lady Flyers this season, led FCHS at the region with a 79, good for third place.

"We knew we were capable of accomplishing a lot, and we did accomplish a lot of things," Smith said.

"We wanted to win the region and we're going to try and win state also. If everyone shoots their best round, we have a good chance."

"I think the season went pretty well," Marshall said. We placed in every tournament we played except one, and went 11-0 in matches. That's pretty exciting. Everyone worked really, really hard and everyone liked each other, so it was a fun year."

Marshall, a freshman, will be competing at state for the third straight year.

"My personal goal was to try and lower my score as much as I could to help the team," she said. "I would have liked for us to win the region, but we were playing the defending state champion. We finished second, and that was good."

While the Lady Flyers finished second to West Jessamine at the regional tournament for the third straight year, in the previous two they had lost by 22 strokes and this year cut the deficit to seven.

"Four out of the 19 teams (at the region) broke 400," Davis said. "That' says a lot about the quality of our 337. I don't think a lot of teams played a course as tough as Picadome or in a region as tough as Region 7."

Franklin County's regional score was the fifth best in the state. Russell County shot 336 and Lone Oak shot 339 to be paired with FCHS Tuesday.

"Once Scott County was put out of our region we felt a little more comfortable going into the region," Hardy said. "We definitely wanted to get in the top two at region so we'd get to state, but it was every shot, one at a time, and try to not set too many goals for the future."

Today will be a practice round at Bowling Green Country Club for the state competitors.

"Last year I was 15th, and this year I want to be in the top five at state," Smith said. "I know it (the Bowling Green course) pretty well. I've played a lot of summer tournaments there, and it suits my game pretty well."

This is the third straight year the state tournament has been played at Bowling Green Country Club.

"I think it definitely helps," Hardy said about being familiar with the course. "The Bowling Green course is pretty straightforward, but there are little things you can learn that can help you on the course because it's always stressful."

But the Lady Flyers will try to enjoy the experience.

"I'm really excited," Bates said. "This will be my first and last trip to state, and I want to make it special."