Head, Coughlin win Tennessee Junior Amateur titles

When Isabella Coughlin competed in her first Tennessee Girls’ Junior Championship in 2022, she had just finished her eighth-grade year. She tied for 50th that first time around, finishing at 46-over par.

Since then, the recent graduate of Christian Academy of Knoxville has made a steady progression in subsequent entries into this event. She finished 19th in 2023, then improved to 11th place the following year. Last year’s result saw Coughlin place third, three shots behind the co-medalists.

Each year represented another step forward, demonstrating a progression that would leave her hungry to take that final ascent to the top rung of finally winning the coveted title.

Mission accomplished.

The Knoxville native, who is headed to Western Kentucky to continue her golf pursuits in the fall, put together a sterling round of 68 on Thursday at Westhaven Golf Club in Franklin to win by two shots over close friend Tori Robinson of Jackson with a final score of 2-over 218.

“It means a lot to be able to do this,” Coughlin said. “I was close to winning last year, too, but I finished third. I didn't have a great first day, but it felt really, really good being able to get a good score on this last day to win. It’s cool because every girl that has won through the years I've gotten to know, and it's nice to be able to join them winning the state junior championship title.”

By virtue of her victory, Coughlin can ignore her uncertain status earned a few weeks ago at a qualifier for the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship. She can now make definitive plans to head to Old Chatham Golf Club in Durham, N.C. from July 13-18 as an exempt participant in the event.

“I was first alternate, so it feels good to officially be in it,” Coughlin said. “This was definitely one of my dreams to be playing the U.S. Junior my last year.”

Her hopes of winning the championship did not look promising after posting an opening round 79 to leave her seven shots off the lead. But knowing she still had 36 more holes to make up ground gave Coughlin hope.

“There was still a lot of golf left after the first day,” Coughlin said. “I was definitely not happy with how I finished, but I knew the course conditions were really hard. I thought if I could get it back to a couple over after the second round, I'd be in a good spot to win.”

Coughlin fired a 71 in her second round, climbing nine spots to place herself one shot off the lead of Robinson to set the stage for Thursday’s showdown.

Birdies on Nos. 2 and 3, coupled with an opening bogey from Robinson, gave Coughlin a one-shot advantage through four holes. But three straight birdies from Robinson starting at the fifth hole pushed her in front by two.

After making the turn tied at 3-over, another birdie from Robinson at 10 again gave her the lead. But the momentum shifted in Coughlin’s favor at No. 11, posting a birdie against a Robinson bogey to give her a lead she would not relinquish.

Two more Coughlin birdies at 13 and 15 brought her back to level par, increasing her margin to three shots as Robinson reeled off four straight pars. Consecutive bogeys from Coughlin at 16 and 17 made things interesting as she approached the final hole, which she had double bogeyed each of the two previous days, owning a two-shot cushion. However, a closing par at 18 sealed the victory.

“I had hooked my drive into the water at 17 and wound up with bogey, and I didn’t hit a good drive on 18 yesterday,” Coughlin said. “I just focused on just trying to hit it on my line off the tee, and I hit a good drive. After that I felt really good for the rest of the hole. The drive at 18 was the biggest shot for me, and I felt great after I executed it.”

Coughlin’s steady play that saw her record six birdies through her first 15 holes with no bogeys was a successful execution of her game plan for the day.

“I definitely had a different mindset today,” Coughlin said. “Honestly, I didn't really know how many under par I was until 15 before I made my sixth birdie of the day. I knew I was quite a few under, but I never really thought of it. I just tried to keep going because I was playing with one of my best friends in Tori and I knew she could turn it on at any moment in the round.”

The close bond between Coughlin and Robinson, who will compete for the College of Charleston in the fall, is something that has inspired both golfers toward greatness.

“We're great friends, and just pushing each other to continue to play the best we can has been great,” Coughlin said. “The competition never gets in between us. We continue to cheer each other on throughout the round, which means a lot. And seeing Hayden (Cherry) and my friend Brooke (Bennett) up at the green watching me finish means a lot because of the friendships you build through junior golf in Tennessee.”

Robinson’s final round 71 allowed her to close at 4-over 220 in second, while Brentwood’s Cherry also shot 71 to finish alone in third at 6-over 222. GibbieKay Cain of Ooltewah placed fourth at 11-over 227, one shot ahead of Annabelle Walton of Brentwood at 12-over 228.

For complete results from the 63rd TN Girls' Junior, click here.

Head Wins State Junior Amateur By One Shot

Braxton Head had never heard of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania prior to this week. He will no doubt be spending plenty of time Googling it over the next few weeks prior to his journey there next month.

The 16-year-old Murfreesboro resident will be making the journey northward to compete in the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship at Bethlehem’s Saucon Valley Country Club on July 20-25 as a reward for winning the Tennessee Junior Amateur on Thursday.

Head demonstrated steely resolve down the stretch, playing his final eight holes in 1-under par to fend off all challengers trying to overtake him. He completed the tournament with a total of 3-under 212 after closing with 71 on Thursday.

“It's definitely the biggest tournament I've ever won,” Head said. “It's probably the biggest tournament I've ever competed in. It's great to pull it off because I definitely had a lot of times this season that I haven't been able to seal the deal. Today I was able to do it, so I was happy.”

Head entered the day with a one-shot lead over four challengers, and his consistent play enabled him to withstand all comers.

Two birdies on his opening nine allowed Head to make the turn in 35 to move to 3 under, two shots ahead of Franklin’s Ben Blackburn and three clear of Brentwood’s Walker Webb. But a bogey by Head at 10, coupled with a Blackburn birdie at 11, drew the two golfers even.

Webb then poured in three straight birdies starting at No. 13 to move to 2 under, one shot ahead of Blackburn and within one of Head, who also birdied 14 to improve to 3 under.

An untimely bogey by Webb at 16 gave Head a two-shot cushion. Head closed with four straight pars to secure the victory with a final birdie by Blackburn at 18, giving him second place at 2-under 214 after carding a 71.

Webb nailed down third place at 1-under 215 after shooting 72.

“Basically, I just came into the day thinking, ‘Let them chase me.’” Head said. “I knew I'd make a couple birdies, so I wanted to put the pressure on those chasing me. If somebody shot something crazy, then they deserved it. But I was not going to choke it away just by trying to go after every single pin.”

Three golfers tied for fourth at 1-over 217, including Jackson’s Carson Andreoni, Brentwood’s Aiden Johnstone, and Wick Baker of Bristol. Those finishing deadlocked in seventh place at 2 over 218 were Brentwood’s Tripp Goodrich, Jackson’s Houston Brasfield, and Jake Eickhoff of Arrington.

With his summer plans now involving a journey to Pennsylvania, Head was not complaining about the change in his itinerary.

“I'm definitely really excited,” Head said. “I’m really proud that a lot of my hard work has paid off, and I’m looking forward to see what I can do at a national tournament.”

Click here for complete results from the 67th TN Junior Amateur.

Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com