Jackson in the mix, Purples pushing for podium finish after day one of KHSAA Boys’ State Golf Finals

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – A few local golfers are spending this week competing in the final round of the Leachman Buick-GMC KHSAA State Golf Championships held at the Bowling Green Country Club.

Tuesday marked the first round of play on the boys’ side and the lone local individual golfer in action was Glasgow’s Griffin Jackson.

The sophomore already has a title under his belt this season, winning the 2A State Tournament in September, and his quest for the KHSAA State Championship is well intact after the first 18 holes.

He would bogey a pair of holes in the front nine, but Jackson locked in during the back half.

He’d make three birdies to finish in the red at one under par, tying him for seventh across the field.

Jackson spoke following day one on how he feels he performed and what he wants to see improve on Wednesday.

“I feel like after the front nine I was a little shaky, but I feel like I came in pretty strong, so I feel like I have a good shot at tomorrow,” Jackson said. “I feel like if I just keep driving the ball well and work on the chipping just a little bit, get a little closer to the hole, it should be fine.”

Also taking to the greens in the two-day final is the Bowling Green Purples who entered the week hot after winning the Semi-State Tournament both as a team and individually.

The start of Tuesday wasn’t what BG envisioned, but the team ended the afternoon strong, sitting in fourth place at a combined 16-over par.

Rowdy Harris and Johnny Brown led the day at two-over par and three-over par, respectfully, a pair of young guys with bright futures.

The Purples overall are young, set to return all five competing in the tournament, so regardless of how the tournament shakes out for Bowling Green, the experience of playing postseason golf is the most valuable takeaway.

“ You put yourself under the pressure of postseason golf and your body is gonna respond a little bit differently. I didn’t think that we had shown nerves until this morning, and we showed some nerves this morning,” Bowling Green head coach Adam Whitt said.

“You know, it’s tough. All week these guys have had their community rooting for them. They’ve gotten messages, and they’re at home, and they get to sleep in their bed, and all that stuff kind of adds up. I think we didn’t handle it well early, and hopefully the experience that we’ve gained this week, you know, hopefully if we get back in the future, we’ll do better with it next year.”

To see the full leaderboard across the state after the first day of play click here.