Skip to content
Triad Golf
Covering Golf News for the Piedmont Triad of NC
Triad Golf
  • Home
  • Golf News
    • Featured News
    • Tournament News
    • Course Features
    • Junior Golf
    • College Golf
    • Instruction
    • Golf Equipment
    • Destinations
    • TriangleGolf.com
  • Courses
  • Tournaments
    • USGA Qualifiers
    • Amateur Individual Tournaments
    • Amateur Team Tournaments
    • Captain’s Choice Tournaments
    • CGA Tournament Schedule
    • Senior Tournament Schedule
    • Junior Tournament Schedule
  • Past Issues
  • FREE Subscription
  • Hole-in-One
  • Advertise
Search:
Facebook page opens in new windowTwitter page opens in new windowInstagram page opens in new window
  • Home
  • Golf News
    • Featured News
    • Tournament News
    • Course Features
    • Junior Golf
    • College Golf
    • Instruction
    • Golf Equipment
    • Destinations
    • TriangleGolf.com
  • Courses
  • Tournaments
    • USGA Qualifiers
    • Amateur Individual Tournaments
    • Amateur Team Tournaments
    • Captain’s Choice Tournaments
    • CGA Tournament Schedule
    • Senior Tournament Schedule
    • Junior Tournament Schedule
  • Past Issues
  • FREE Subscription
  • Hole-in-One
  • Advertise

Clutch Ketchum: Reagan senior closes prep career with remarkable round for state title

Nov192021
Featured NewsJunior GolfTournament News
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

By David Droschak

Was it the best six-month span of women’s prep golf in North Carolina history?

That fact would be hard to argue after Reagan High School captured its second 4-A state title in 2021, riding a final-round 65 from senior star Morgan Ketchum to tack on yet another record scoring day.

Ketchum, who will play college golf at Virginia Tech, started the final round at Pinehurst No. 5 eight shots off the pace, but rallied with booming tee shots and a hot putter to a remarkable bogey-free 7-under-par closing round and a four-shot victory.

There have been some memorable rounds shot on the iconic Pinehurst Resort courses in the North Carolina Sandhills, but Ketchum’s performance ranks high on the list.

After an opening-round 75, she birdied six of her first 11 holes, and then after a massive drive on the 18th hole left Ketchum nothing more than a flip wedge to the green, she closed out her high school career with a 12-foot birdie putt that just was icing on the cake to Reagan’s third state title in the last four years.

“Yeah, I think I was trying to press some in the first round that lead to a couple of mistakes, and I told myself I wasn’t going to do any of that in the second round,” Ketchum said.

Macy Pate, who won the individual title in May as a freshman, tied for second after a final-round 69, while junior Anna Howerton’s two rounds of 75 was good for 11th place and counted towards Reagan’s 7-under closing round and 15-shot victory over Cardinal Gibbons.

“This is just fantastic,” head coach Jay Allred said of his team’s record-setting final round. “It has been a great ride. We’ve got some great kids, and they’ve worked hard. All kids work hard, but these girls are phenomenal workers.

“And it was so fun watching Morgan Ketchum just blast the ball; I mean she’s hitting it on another planet,” added Allred. “Virginia Tech is getting a great kid and a great player.”

The nation’s top-ranked women’s high school team was in an uncharacteristic position after the first round – tied with Cardinal Gibbons at 9-over. Reagan had spent most, if not all, of the season well ahead of its competitors, setting prep scoring record after record, including a 14-under-par round of 57 by Pate along with a team 190 total in the Central Piedmont 4-A Conference championships.

Pate also shot an opening-round 75 along with Ketchum as the state championship began, which didn’t necessarily surprise Allred, who started his career 15 years ago as a coach at the Pfafftown school and now has three state crowns in short order.

“I didn’t feel we had a good practice (coming into the state championship) and I was a little frustrated over it,” Allred said. “These kids are great, and we have experience, but you’re dealing with teenage, adolescent kids and anything can happen. I wasn’t surprised when we came out and didn’t play well in the first round. Macy and Morgan both wanted to be state champions very badly and I figured that they would probably try too hard, and that’s kind of what happened.

“I sent them a message (after the first round) and said ‘Look, I am not surprised by where we are, I’ve been doing this for 15 years and I’m going to tell you what’s going to happen. We’re going to come out and strike first, strike hard and have no mercy.’ I told them they would be up by 10 strokes at the turn and they were up by 10 strokes at the turn … and we kept going from there.”

Ketchum, playing in the final group, was on point from the start, as she birdied the first two holes to anchor this star-studded team.

“I would say Morgan and Macy had below-average rounds for them, but I knew they were not going to have that performance two days in a row,” Allred said.

“It’s such a cool place with all the history and how it is all set up here,” Ketchum added of winning a state title at this historic resort. “It’s cool to say ‘I shot a 65 here at Pinehurst because a lot of people know what Pinehurst means to golf.”’

Ketchum, who plans to major in Math at Virginia Tech, is known for her relentless work ethic and reserved demeanor, but a state title was able to bring a huge smile to her face as she was mobbed by her teammates following the conclusion of her round of 65.

“She is very quiet, and she is just an incredible person and just so very smart,” Allred said of Ketchum. “Last spring break she practiced 90 hours. She would get up in the morning go work out and then head to the club. In the summer she beats the staff to work, she practices golf until 2 o’clock, and then will swim laps for an hour, and then play or practice some more. At the Pinecrest tournament, she asked if it was OK to have a Kindle and read a book during the tournament. So, she reads a book while she’s playing a round of golf. Who does that?”

“I love to practice,” added Ketchum. “I think to myself that I can either sit at home and watch TV or practice, so I go practice golf.”

Reagan had the rare opportunity to win two state titles in the span of six months after last year’s event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Best women’s team I’ve ever seen,” said veteran Pinecrest coach Rich Wainwright, who has worked at Pinehurst for 42 years and has been around his share of outstanding teams. “If our guy’s team played them from the same tees I think we might beat them.”

“They lived up to their billing,” he added. “What did they shoot, 23 under at their conference match and 7 under in the final round here? It’s just so good, so good. The best team won, that’s for sure, the best team won. I’ve enjoyed watching them.”

Howerton will be a senior next season, Pate a junior and Hillary Gong a sophomore. Gong was at 1-under after nine holes in her final round, but tied for 28th this time around as a freshman.

Categories: Featured News, Junior Golf, Tournament NewsBy Jay AllredNovember 19, 2021Leave a comment
Tags: Anna HowertonHillary GongJay AllredMacy PateMaple Chase Golf and Country ClubMary Kate Bowman-ChoatMorgan KetchumNCHSAA 4A Golf ChampionshipNCHSAA Golf ChampionshipReagan High School GolfRuth Anne Asbill
Share this post
Share on FacebookShare on Facebook TweetShare on Twitter Pin itShare on Pinterest Share on LinkedInShare on LinkedIn

Author: Jay Allred

Post navigation

PreviousPrevious post:Eastern Alamance’s Mathews wins second 3-A prep championshipNextNext post:Operation 36 golf coaching innovator sold to Golf Genius

Related posts

Elkin and Cedarbrook Country Club: Married at the Hip
August 11, 2022
Rumbling Bald On Lake Lure Exploring Major Upgrades
July 29, 2022
Pilot Knob Park Country Club Upgrading Greens
July 19, 2022
July Aces
July 4, 2022
Champion Hills Prime Example of North Carolina Private Club Meeting Changing Golf Market with Creative Options
May 13, 2022
College Notes
May 7, 2022
Pine Needles Offering Best Female Golfers New Challenge
April 30, 2022
Wake Forest on a roll heading to ACC Women’s Tournament
April 5, 2022

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Post comment

Contact Info

Dave Droschak-Editor
Phone Number: 919-630-6656
E-mail: ddroschak@earthlink.net

Jay Allred – Publisher
Phone Number: 336-924-1619
E-mail: Jay@triadgolf.com

Find us on:

Find us on:

Facebook page opens in new windowTwitter page opens in new windowInstagram page opens in new window
Triad Golf