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Rawl rallies to win the 28th Tennessee Women’s Open; Johnson wins in playoff for Senior Division title


Three weeks ago, Isabella Rawl had no plans to travel to Tennessee this week. But one of her former Clemson teammates, Chloe Holder, had signed up to play in the Tennessee Women’s Open, so Rawl decided to join her at the last minute.


What started out as just a fun week of competition in the rolling foothills of Fairfield Glade turned into much more for Rawl, who recently completed her senior year for the Tigers. Instead, the native of Lexington, South Carolina, was able to walk away with the title after winning the Open Division crown in the 28th playing of this event.


“She signed up to play and said, ‘I think it'd be fun for us to play in this.’ So, I signed up three weeks ago, and we drove up together,” Rawl said. “I've heard great things about the event and knew there is good golf in Tennessee. We had never played in Tennessee when I was in college, so it sounded fun.”


For most of the day it appeared that the tournament would belong to Faith Kilgore. Rawl had made a valiant comeback effort, rallying from a six-shot deficit to seize a share of the lead as she approached her final hole.

But a bogey at 18 coupled with a birdie by Kilgore at 17 in the group behind her seemingly dashed Rawl’s hopes of winning the tournament, her final score of 4-over two shots north of Kilgore’s total with one hole remaining.


But the 18th hole at the Stonehenge Golf Club had seen its share of carnage this week as the 360-yard par-4 had played as the second toughest hole in the tournament. And as the final group came through 18, it claimed one more victim with the championship hanging in the balance.


Kilgore’s drive plugged in the rough where she was unable to locate it. Forced to return to the tee, the former University of Texas golfer who now competes professionally on the Annika Women’s All Pro Tour ultimately suffered a triple bogey to close her round.


That sudden turn of events thrust Rawl into the lead for the first time in the entire tournament, giving her the title as Kilgore’s late miscue left her at 5-over in a tie for second with Christyn Smith of Duluth, Ga.


Rawl did not discover that she had won until she was walking out of the clubhouse after Kilgore missed her putt for double bogey, which would have forced a playoff. She then celebrated with Holder along with two other current Clemson golfers in the field.


“I was in the scoring tent when they were talking about looking for her ball,” Rawl said. “After I signed the scorecard, I went out and asked someone if she had had to re-tee. From there I went to the clubhouse because in that moment I was trying to mentally prepare for a playoff.”


Rawl shot 69 on Saturday to become the first amateur to win the championship since Lynn Lim in 2023 and is the 11th amateur to claim top honors in the tournament’s history.


Kilgore entered the day with a one-shot lead over Old Hickory’s Sloane Biddle and two shots clear of Rawl. She quickly extended her advantage to six strokes through five holes thanks to a trio of early birdies put her at even par for the tournament.


However, back-to-back double bogeys by Kilgore at 6 and 7 gave renewed hope to her challengers. Rawl birdied 8 and 10 to pull even at 4-over, making up six shots in a four-hole stretch.


Kilgore regained the lead at 3-over with a birdie at No. 10, then reeled off five straight pars to maintain her one-shot cushion before Rawl drew even with a birdie at 16 to set the stage for the climactic ending.


Rawl was unaware of where she stood on the leaderboard until she arrived at the final hole.


“I had my head down until I walked up to 18 green and saw she just birdied 17,” Rawl said. “That's the first time I saw the leaderboard. I was just playing my game and sticking to my game plan and keeping the same mindset as I had all week. If it resulted in winning the tournament, great, and if not, then I knew I gave it my best shot.”


The victory also helped provide Rawl with some clarity on her future in golf at a needed time.


“'I’ve been kind of going back and forth with the idea of professional golf or staying amateur and getting a job,” Rawl said. “I took a month off in June and kind of realized my love for the game is still there, so I think I'm headed to Q School in September to pursue pro golf.”


Smith, who competed at North Carolina A&T before turning professional, remained in the conversation most of the day with her impressive final round 69. She finished the day with 15 pars to go with two birdies and a bogey.


Biddle, who is entering her junior season at Belmont, overcame a rough start that saw her shoot 6-over for her first seven holes only to bounce back to post a tidy 4-under the rest of the way to place fourth at 6 over.


Also making an impressive showing in the final round was former Tennessee golfer Bailey Davis. The Knoxville resident opened with an eagle on the first hole, then added six birdies throughout her round to post a 5-under 65 to rise 25 places into a tie for fifth at 8-over. Davis’ performance tied the record for best round in the Tennessee Women’s Open, and she was the first to accomplish the feat in the final round.


Joining Davis at 8-over in fifth place were Amy DeKock of Palm Desert, Calif. and Maryville amateur Sophia Gambini. Alaina Schmitt of Louisville, Ky. and Xiaoche Che, an amateur from Statesboro, Ga., shared eighth place at 9-over.


For complete results from the 28th Tennessee Women’s Open, click here.


LPGA Veteran Johnson Wins State Women’s Open Senior Title


Winning golf tournaments is nothing new for Christa Johnson. After all, she accumulated nine victories on the LPGA Tour, including a major championship at the 1997 McDonald’s LPGA Championship. Johnson also won four times on the LPGA’s Legends Tour for senior golfers.


Johnson’s history of success and knack for closing out victories manifested itself on Friday at the 11th edition of the Tennessee Women’s Open Senior Division competition. After she and playing partners Barb Moxness and Patricia Beliard separated themselves from the rest of the field early in the round, Johnson won with a birdie on the first hole of a three-way playoff at Fairfield Glade’s Stonehenge Golf Club.


The playoff took place on hole No. 1, which Johnson had birdied earlier in the day. After splitting the fairway with her drive, she delivered a gap wedge to four feet, which she converted for the winning birdie.


“Winning never gets old,” Johnson said. “And where I am right now, it's a little sweeter because there are not as many opportunities.”


It was Johnson’s first appearance in the Tennessee Women’s Open, hoping the competition would help prepare her for a pair of important tournaments on her calendar.


“We have two main events on our Legends Tour, and they're the LPGA Championship and the U.S. Senior Women's Open which are both coming up,” Johnson said. “It's important for me to get my head into competition, and the fact that Tennessee has a senior division made it really nice. I have friends here in Crossville and I have a nephew here in Tennessee, so it was a good fit for me.”


Johnson entered the day three shots behind Moxness, who is her close friend and neighbor in Stuart, Fla. after relocating from Arizona. A pair of birdies over her first seven holes temporarily gave Johnson the lead at 2-over. However, a triple bogey at No. 9 left Johnson two shots back of Moxness and one behind Katy, Texas resident Beliard at the turn.


A birdie at 12 drew Johnson to within one of the lead, and another birdie from 25 feet at No. 15 – a par five hole that had been shortened to a par three this week due to wet conditions - tied her with both of her playing partners at 4-over.


The three golfers all carded pars over the final three holes, with Moxness missing a makeable birdie try at 17 that could have given her the lead before converting a difficult up-and-down on 18 to earn a spot in the playoff. The trio tied at 4-over 144 as Johnson closed with an even par 70, Beliard shot 2-over 72, and Moxness signed for a 3-over 73.


“I kind of have this attitude that I'm gonna play golf until someone tells me to stop,” Johnson said. “I don't ever tell myself, ‘One hole left, two holes left.’ I just keep playing golf until someone tells me we're done. It was really a fun day, and I'm proud of all of us because it should give all of us confidence to play.”


Nashville’s Erica Chappell earned low amateur honors at 15-over 155, finishing in a tie for fourth with Lee Ann Walker of Southport, N.C. Clarissa Childs of Columbia, S.C. placed fifth with a total of 16-over 156, followed by Nashville amateur Helen Holland in seventh at 18-over 158 and Charlotte’s Tiffany Anselment in eighth with 19-over 159.


These stories were written by Paul Payne and originally published in The Chattanoogan.