Calhoun County, AL – White Plains’ boys, girls lead after first round; Weaver’s Ledbetter leads by three strokes, White Plains’ Rogers by four; final round postponed
Editor’s note: Saturday’s inclement weather forced postponement of he final round until Friday at 1 pm.
By Joe Medley
Once again, Nick Ledbetter sits atop the field after one round of the Calhoun County tournament.
This time, he hopes to master the finish.
The Weaver senior shot a 3-under-par 69 in Friday’s first round at Pine Hill to lead White Plains’ Wyatt Cotney by three strokes.
White Plains’ Isabel Rogers shot a 79 to lead the girls’ field by four, and eighth-grade teammate Maylee Stewart shot a season-best 88 to key the Wildcats’ three-shot lead over defending champion Alexandria in the team standings.
Defending champion White Plains’ boys hold a 12-stroke lead on Oxford headed into Saturday’s final round, and weather could turn a first-round lead into a championship. Saturday’s forecast calls for rain chances ranging from 65 percent to 93 percent during the hours of play.
“I think we’ll play, as long as it’s not heavy and there’s no lightning,” White Plains coach Chris Randall said. “It’s not supposed to be real heavy. It’s just supposed to be a steady rain, so we should be all right.”
Despite his first-round lead, Ledbetter said he won’t be doing a rain dance.
“Hopefully, we get to play tomorrow,” he said. “You never want your county tournament to be cut short, but today, before we started, Coach (Justin) Brown told me to play good, because this might be the only round we play.
“I came out the gate firing.”
Ledbetter was tied with White Plains’ Sawyer Edwards for the lead after the first round in 2022, but Edwards matched his first-round 70 in the second round. Ledbetter shot a 76.
Assuming rain allows a finish this year, Ledbetter hopes finish strong for his first county title.
“It would mean a lot,” he said. “It’s what I’ve been trying to do since I started playing. Everybody wants to win the county tournament.”
He went on to finish second at state last year, as well. He described his mindset by invoking a famous line from the movie “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.”
“I’m really good at being the ‘first loser,’” he said. “‘If you’re not first, you’re last.’”
Finishing first “would be awesome,” he said. “It’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to get out there and play golf, have fun and win.”
Ledbetter called his Friday round “very boring.” No long-putt birdie finishes, but then he didn’t need any.
“Boring golf is always good, if you’re right around even or under and you’re calling it a boring day,” he said. “Any day on the golf course is good.”
As for the team competition, White Plains leads the boys and girls.
“I’m glad we’re in the lead, but I felt like we left a lot out there,” Randall said. “We struck the ball really well, but too many uncharacteristic three-putts. We had a few big numbers on a couple of the easier holes, but I feel like we’ll play a lot better tomorrow. …
“Oxford can go low, and so can Alexandria. We can’t relax.”
Cotney led the way for White Plains’ boys, three shots back of Ledbetter in second place. His day featured a long drive and chip-in on No. 7.
“He hit a drive on No. 7 that’s as far as any drive I’ve ever seen a high-school kid hit and chipped it in,” Randall said. “It’s a par 4 from the white tee, and he chips it in.
“He hits it almost on 8 tee box from 7 tee.”
Randall said he expects improvement from defending low medalist Edwards on Saturday.
“He’s a little aggravated at himself,” Randall said. “I like Sawyer when the chips are down. I love Sawyer when he’s behind. He always comes out swinging.”
Girls
White Plains’ girls look to rebound after Alexandria knocked them off the top last year. Alexandria lost 2022 county low medalist and state champion Lauren Sechrest to graduation, and White Plains lost Baylie Webb and Abby Gattis, key figure on their 2021 state-championship team.
Rogers leads the field, four shots ahead of Alexandria’s Avery Prickett, but Stewart’s career-low 88 Friday played a key role in the Wildcats’ leading.
“I don’t think she knows how good she can be yet,” Randall said. “She’s got a beautiful, long and athletic swing, and he scores? In golf, it’s one thing to hit long on the range, but you have to learn how to score. We’ve played so many tournaments, and she’s learning how to score.”
Stewart called her round “up and down.”
“I stayed pretty steady the whole time and tried to keep my attitude good,” she said. “I think that’s what helped me.”
Alexandria came into Friday’s first round having just won the Chesley Oaks Spring Classic
“We played about 16 holes of pretty good golf,” Alexandria coach Craig Kiker said. “We had two that really hurt us.
“In golf, that can happen. I just hope we get to play tomorrow.”
2023 Calhoun County prep golf championship
Pine Hill Country Club
First round
BOYS’ TEAM SCORES: White Plains 306, Oxford 318, Alexandria 337, Weaver 341, Piedmont 360, Jacksonville 374, Ohatchee 473.
GIRLS’ TEAM SCORES: White Plains 257, Alexandria 260, Oxford 314, Weaver 330.
BOYS’ INDIVIDUALS
Nick Ledbetter, Weaver — 69
Wyatt Cotney, White Plains — 72
Sawyer Edwards, White Plains — 75
Jamarcus Stokes, Alexandria — 77
Cohen Acton, Oxford — 78
Brayden Cochran, Oxford — 78
Pierson Otralek, Alexandria — 78
Cam Hurst, White Plains — 79
Zach Goss, White Plains — 80
Dalton Faulkner, White Plains — 81
Chip Mraz, Oxford — 81
Hayden Coppock, Oxford — 81
Ryder Hudgins, White Plains — 81
Nic Boyd, Oxford — 82
Zach Limberis, Jacksonville — 82
Connor Williams, Piedmont — 83
Alex Odam, Piedmont — 84
Fisher Prichard, Alexandria — 84
Ethan McCareeth, White Plains — 84
Carson Cason, Weaver — 87
Cleat Forrest, Alexandria — 88
John Austin Carpenter, Alexandria — 88
Austin Ray, Oxford — 88
Wade Thompson, White Plains — 89
Jackson Williams, Weaver — 90
Braxton Branham, Oxford — 90
Walker Hobbs, Jacksonville — 91
Ben Campbell, White Plains — 91
Jacob McCurdy, Piedmont — 92
John Curtis Reaves, Weaver — 92
Noah Holder, White Plains — 92
Carson Chandler, Weaver — 93
Ty Roberts, White Plains — 94
Hunter Hise, Weaver — 95
Miller Spencer, Alexandria — 95
Stone Walker, Jacksonville — 99
Trent Young, Piedmont — 101
Bennett Clemons, Piedmont — 101
Charlie Holder, White Plains — 101
Jackson Rosier, Jacksonville — 102
Score Bussey, Oxford — 102
Will Rester, White Plains — 102
Grayson Vaughn, Ohatchee — 105
Landon GIlley, Piedmont — 105
Easton Wright, White Plains — 105
Jaycob Tola, Jacksonville — 106
Jake Smith, Piedmont — 107
Dorian McKerchar, Jacksonville — 109
Brady Goble, Alexandria — 109
Noah Farmer, Piedmont — 110
Caden Goff, Oxford, 112
Ben Pridgen, Jacksonville — 112
Caleb Gay, Alexandria — 113
Konnor Mayfield, Weaver — 114
Hollis Real, Jacksonville — 117
Menelik Hayes, Jacksonville — 117
Hayden Heard, Ohatchee — 118
Drew Jones, White Plains — 119
Marshall Mayo, Ohatchee — 120
Cam Lockridge, Piedmont — 121
Lawson Goble, Alexandria — 121
Jayden Matthews, Piedmont — 123
Hayden Bryant, Ohatchee — 130
Jaxon Tola Jacksonville — 147
GIRLS’ INDIVIDUALS
Isabel Rogers, White Plains — 79
Avery Prickett, Alexandria — 83
Maylee Stewart, White Plains — 88
Navaeh Foster, Alexandria — 88
Annabelle Page, Oxford — 88
Marlee Hedgepeth, Alexandria — 89
Rachel Gattis, White Plains — 90
Madelyn Faulkner, White Plains — 93
Aubree Cobb, White Plains — 98
Alexis Cleveland, Weaver — 104
Alli Pressley, White Plains — 104
Camryn McElroy, White Plains — 105
Savannah Simmons, Alexandria — 108
Demari Grant, Weaver — 110
Chloey Page, Oxford — 112
Reece Kirkpatrick, Piedmont — 112
Addyson Shelton, White Plains — 113
Abigail Logan, Oxford — 114
Alana Prickett, Alexandria — 114
Tessa Taubenheim, Weaver — 116
Reagan Hammack, Jacksonville — 117
Madison Boyd, White Plains — 122
Gemma McGaha, White Plains — 123
Baleigh Brown, Weaver — 137
