Keira Johnson shoots personal best, 74, for conference championship
Two Warlassies qualify for regional tournament, team takes second in Western Highlands Conference
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
October 17, 2022
What has become an annual tradition at Owen since Keira Johnson began swinging golf clubs in a Warlassies uniform continued, Oct. 12, as the senior qualified for her fourth straight NCHSAA 1A/2A Regional Tournament.
She extended her streak by shooting a personal best, 74, on her home course, emerging as the 2022 Western Highlands Conference Champion.
Johnson, whose career revived the previously inactive girls golf program at Owen, was one of two Warlassies who qualified for the Tuesday, Oct. 18 regionals, held at the Mimosa Hills Golf Club in Morganton. Junior Tinsley Clark, who was introduced to the sport in August, punched her ticket to the tournament on Wednesday as she shot a 52 on the front 9 of the Black Mountain Golf Course.
The team, which is rounded out by senior Addison Bartlett, a key player on the Owen volleyball team, finished second in the WHC.
“I’m so proud of these girls,” said John Knight, who established the Warlassies as the first girls golf team in Buncombe County in 1998 and came out of retirement to coach the squad this year. “They really pulled together as a team and competed with the top players and teams in this conference all season.”
There was never any question whether Johnson, who finished 10th in regionals and 31st in the state championship tournament a year ago, would return to the course for Owen this season, but competing as a team required at least three golfers on the roster. Knight turned to a pair of inexperienced players to fill out the squad.
“Tinley is a softball player, and she doesn’t play a sport in the fall,” the coach said. “She came out and loved it right from the start.”
Clark recruited Bartlett, her close friend and softball teammate, to join the golf team.
“Even though Addison already plays a fall sport, she played well right from the start,” Knight said.
While Bartlett’s volleyball schedule only allowed her to practice on the weekends, he continued, her athleticism made her an instant contributor to the team’s success.
“She did really well for someone who wasn’t able to practice that much, and it was kind of amazing,” he said. “The first time we had the whole team together for a match we went to Sugar Mountain and they beat every other team in the conference.”
Johnson, who has been golfing since she was a young child, continued to sharpen her skills on the course this season.
“She’s really played her best golf the last two or three weeks,” Knight said. “Her ball striking has always been good, but she’s managed to get even better in that aspect of the game. Her putting has really improved over the course of this season, and if she continues to putt well she can compete with anybody.”
Both Clark and Johnson earned recognition on the all-conference team, while Johnson finished as the runner-up for the WHC Player of the Year honor.
“They’ve both demonstrated that they’re capable of qualifying for the state championship tournament,” Knight said. “If Keira strikes the ball the way she has been all season, she will qualify. With this being Tinley’s first time in the regional tournament, she’ll probably have to deal with a little bit of pressure, but if she relaxes and plays her game, she has a great chance of making it.”
The golfers played a practice round at Mimosa Hills over the weekend to better familiarize themselves with the course.
“Those greens are fast, so we have already spent time there working on the short game,” Knight said. “The practice round gave them an opportunity to learn where they can and can not go. The course is a Donald Ross design, so you can’t go over the greens. When it’s playing fast like it is right now, if you go over the green you’re in trouble.”
As the Warlassies prepare for regional competition, the coach is advising his players to focus on their games and not their opponents.
“I’m not stressing specific aspects of the game, and instead just encouraging them to do their best and play each shot on at a time,” Knight said. “All they need to do is focus on the fundamentals.”
Regardless of the outcome, he added, all three Warlassies golfers should be proud of what they’ve accomplished this year.
“I’m grateful we were able to put together a team, but they did much more than that,” he said. “Keira is obviously a skilled golfer, and she has been a consistent leader for this group. Tinley picked up a golf club for the first time in August, and she’s qualified for a regional tournament in her first season. Addison beat four girls who had been playing all year long in the conference tournament, so they should all feel great about the way they’ve performed this year.”
Photos of the Western Highlands Conference tournament, held at the Black Mountain Golf Course, can be found in the gallery at the top of the page.