Warlassies tee up to drive toward postseason run
Owen golfers focus on building off early season success
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
September 12, 2024
A season-best round propelled Owen to a second place finish, Sept. 9, as the Warlassies welcomed golfers from five Western Highlands Conference programs to the Black Mountain Golf Course.
Led by sophomore Scout Schermerhorn and junior Elly Wright, Owen shot 133 in the nine hole tournament, marking the team’s lowest score since 2022 and second consecutive top two conference finish.
Highlighted by a trio of career-low scores—Schermerhorn’s 40, Wright’s 46 and senior Bryanna Stafford’s 47—the performance set a standard that could take the Warlassies back to the state championship tournament for the first time in two years, according to head coach John Knight.
“For us to have a round like that, this early in the season, is awesome,” said Knight, who has led the program for 18 seasons. “If we continue to average somewhere around that, we’ll be on the right path and I’ll be happy.”
Owen entered the season with three returning golfers, in Schermerhorn, Wright and Stafford, and newcomer Genevieve Marshall. The group has improved in each of its first five matches of the campaign.
“We improved by 26 shots from our first match to our latest match, and that’s a testament to their work so far,” Knight said.
Schermerhorn emerged as one of the reigning conference champion’s top golfers a season ago, when she averaged 48.8 through 13 rounds of 9 holes. The sophomore has strengthened multiple aspects of her game through the first five matches of the season, according to the coach.
“She is improving all the time and getting more consistent with her ball striking,” Knight said. “She has always been a solid putter, but her tee to green is the biggest difference so far this season. She’s hitting the ball further, which obviously helps a lot.”
The continued development of Wright, who has posted two career-best performances this season after joining the team as a sophomore, is another key component to Owen’s success.
“She came in ahead of where she finished last year, and she’s only gotten better since then,” Knight said. “Elly’s a true athlete and she really started putting everything together in our last few matches last season, and that boosted her confidence coming into her second year in the sport.”
The strength of Stafford, the third Owen golfer to qualify for the West Regional after shooting under 55 through her first five matches, has produced solid results from the tee box.
“Her ball striking looks great, and she’s been able to hit it a long way off the tee with little effort,” Knight said. “She’s still making strides with her irons and putter, but I believe by the end of the year she should cut a few strokes off her scores.”
Owen’s sole first-year player, Marshall, is improving steadily through the first three weeks of the season, the coach added.
“She’s getting better and better every time I see her, and she deserves credit just for jumping right into the competitive golf,” Knight said. “She’s got a great attitude, and that's something that will work in her favor as she continues working on the rest of her game.”
While competition at the top of the WHC is strong, according to Knight, the Warlassies are motivated by a share drive to qualify for the state championship tournament later this fall.
“We didn’t send anyone to state last year, so all of the girls are focused on changing that this season,” Knight said. “To do that, we only need to focus on ourselves and work on bringing our scores down as low as possible.”
The process begins with consistency, he added.
“We’re focused on keeping the ball in play, chipping and putting,” Knight said. “These girls are committed to being successful out there, so I’m confident they will keep working hard as the season goes on.”
Photos of the Western Highlands Golf tournament, held Sept. 9, at the Black Mountain Golf Course, can be viewed in the gallery at the top of the page.