The smell of the fresh grass flooded into sophomore Chloe Johnston’s nose as she walked onto the tee box at WinterStone golf course. The pressure was on her as she swung her driver back and hit the golf ball onto the fairway 180 yards away. She was surrounded by clapping from the crowd, about to go 1-0 on the first hole against Liberty North.
On Oct. 3, the Lady Jays golf team won the Bertoldie Cup against North 5-2 at the WinterStone Golf course, which is North’s home course.
“This is the first year in two years that we’ve won the Bertoldie cup; it was fun to bring the tradition back and win,” Johnston said.
The girls woke up early to get in the team van, which took them to their course at eight in the morning. When they arrived, they went to the driving range to practice their swings. They used this time to see how the wind would move their ball.
The entire team played nine holes as a scramble match. This is when two players from each team hit a tee shot, and whoever’s ball goes farther gets marked, and they get to hit again. From there, whichever team gets the ball into the hole with the least amount of strokes earns a point.
Coaches decide the lineup of the players. The first tee time was at 2:30 PM, where Johnston and junior Kourtney Bowman teed off.
“I love golfing with my team because even though golf is an individual sport, you are always playing for your team, and there is always someone cheering you on, and it’s very supportive,” Johnston said.
The jays lost the first match but went on to win the second with junior Electra Loney and junior Kendyl Brown, tie the third with senior Emma Verssue and senior Sophie Bradford, and win the rest.
“The point of winning the cup represents any rivalry between us and North. The creator of the tournament was a head coach for Liberty golf six years ago. The tournament is named after him, Forrest Bertoldie,” Verssue said.
After tournaments, if the team does well, they celebrate. This includes getting food on the way home or spending time to celebrate with each other.
“My favorite memory is the van rides to and from tournaments. We get Sonic after we win, and we all talk, and it’s a fun time,” Verssue said.
The Lady Jays golf team has not won this award in three years. This win reflected the team’s improvements over the years. The many practices they’ve had have given them time to improve their teamwork skills and grow a larger love for golfing.
“I think this year, we have a lot of girls who are really good at golf. We worked very well as a team, putting our strength and hard work together and coming out with the win,” Verssue said.
The team just finished the State tournament on Oct. 20-21 at Sedalia Country Club. They qualified as a team with players Johnston, Bowman, Electra Loney, Sophie Bradfordmand Kendyl Brown.
Two athletes also qualified individually, Johnston and Bowman, and won All-Conference honors. Johnston finished 19 individually in the State tournament with a total of 160 over both days.
Bowman ended the tournament with a total score of 175. The team tied for seventh place with their final score being 696 over the two days.
The State tournament was the last event happening in golf this year. Women’s golf tryouts will be hosted next year in the fall.
“The experience was very fun, getting to hit in front of everyone and hearing everyone’s walk-up songs,” Johnston said.
