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Gainesville boys, girls claim Hall County golf titles
Parks Brown leads Red Elephants with 36 both days
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Gainesville's Parks Brown tees off during Tuesday's final round of the Hall County Championships at the Royal Lakes Golf Course in South Hall. - photo by SARA GUEVARA | The Times

Hall County
championships
Boys team scores

1. Gainesville 150-149—299

2. North Hall    156-161—317

3. Flowery Branch    162-156—318

4. Johnson    165-176—341

5. Lakeview Academy    199-186—385

6. West Hall    191-203—394

7. Riverside Military    208-188—397

8. Chestatee    219-200—419

Girls team results

1. Gainesville    77-81—158

2. West Hall    84-86—170

3. North Hall    97-98—196

4. Johnson    106-103—209

5. Chestatee    118-112—230

6. Flowery Branch    129-124—253

Boys top individual scores

1. Parks Brown, Gainesville    72

T2. Grant Lasseter, Gainesville    75

T2. Eric Little, Flowery Branch    75

T3. Pep Brown, Gainesville    76

T3. Jackson Bishop, Gainesville    76

4. Luke James, Johnson    77

T5. Reeves Bell, Gainesville    78

T5. Kameron Williams, Flowery Branch    78

T5. Ryan Matthews, North Hall    78

T5. Jackson Berry, North Hall    78

Girls top individual scores

1. Morgan Reece, Gainesville    78

2. Malorie Smith, West Hall    79

3. Meg Callahan, Gainesville    83

4. Madeline Harr, Gainesville    84

5. Olivia Davis, West Hall    91

FLOWERY BRANCH - Gainesville boys golf coach Bryson Worley preached to his team to play solid and not worry about being spectacular in the Hall County Championships.

However, when all the scores were tallied for the Red Elephants, four very solid scores equalled a spectacular finish Tuesday at Royal Lakes.

Gainesville's top four scores over 18 holes were all within four shots of one another - and all in the 70s - leading to a Hall County championship with a two-day score a 299, also a new meet record.

The previous mark of 302 was set by Johnson in 2010.

After Gainesville carded a 150 during Monday's first round, they were one shot better on the final day of play.

"This group I have works very, very, very hard and may be the most dedicated group I've ever coached," Worley said.

North Hall placed second (317) and Flowery Branch was third (318).

It was a clean sweep for Gainesville at the county championships. Lady Red Elephants sophomore Morgan Reece had three birdies on her final nine holes to win low-medallist honors with a 78.

Gainesville finished with a 158, 12 shots ahead of second-place West Hall at 170.

On the boys side, Parks Brown shot a 36 for the second consecutive day to win the low medallist honors (72).

He finished three strokes ahead of Gainesville's Grant Lasseter and Flowery Branch's Eric Little, who both carded a 75.

Though Brown earned the individual honors by playing conservatively and finishing with 14 pars, he put an exclamation point on his win with a birdie on No. 18 in front of a large following in the leaders group.

With his third shot on the par 5 in the middle of the fairway and about 100 yards from the pin, he stuck his shot to within about three feet of the cup and tapped in for a birdie.

"I felt like it was all on the line on No. 18 and needed a birdie," Brown said. "I was pretty happy with the shot."

Brown had one other birdie over the two days, and only two bogeys total.

His other birdie came after he knocked an eight iron to about 15 feet from the cup on No. 10 to start his final round. "I'm really happy with the way Parks played today," Worley said. "He's a solid ball striker and confident in his abilities."

The consistency for the Red Elephants was their highlight. Lasseter shot a 37-38 for a final score of 75, while Pep Brown went 39-37 for a 76.

Meanwhile, Jackson Bishop had 38 on both days for the Red Elephants.

"We love winning Hall County, but it's never easy with this great field and teams like North Hall, Flowery Branch and Johnson," said Pep Brown. "Our whole philosophy is to look for pars and commit to it."

Meanwhile, Reece was as consistent as her male counterparts from Gainesville.

She rebounded from a triple bogey on No. 9 with a birdie on the next hole to hold on for a one-shot victory over West Hall's Malorie Smith (79).

Her birdie putt came after knocking a fairway shot to within 10 feet of the pin. Reece said that the win was especially satisfying for a Lady Red Elephants squad comprised of three sophomores and a freshman.

"It's so exciting that both of our teams came out and won the title," Reece said.

The Lady Red Elephants had three of the top five girls scores, including Meg Callahan in third with an 83 and Madeline Harr fourth with an 84.

North Hall's Haley Twiggs had an eagle on No. 9 Tuesday and finished with a two-day total of 99.

 

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