Hayesville – After returning its top five golfers from last season’s Smoky Mountain Conference champions, expectations remained high for the Murphy boys golf team. The Bulldogs delivered, capping an undefeated regular season by winning a third straight conference championship.
“They just worked their butts off,” head coach Joseph Watson said. “A lot of complacency can happen after you win two, but they continued to work and play hard and they have goals of their own.”
Murphy won the two-day event by 102 strokes over Robbinsville, and their top four golfers all made the six player All-Conference team. Watson doesn’t think that’s ever happened in the history of the program.
Senior Wyatt Simmons led the way for the Bulldogs, shooting a 77 on Murphy’s home course of Old Union Golf Club in Blairsville, Ga., then a 79 at the Mountain Harbour Golf Club in Hayesville to win the event by five strokes over Robbinsville’s Isaiah Brown. This is Simmons’ second time winning Smoky Mountain Conference Golfer of the Year, as he previously won the individual title in 2021.
“The wind was probably the worst we played in the entire season,” Watson said. “Especially for Wyatt to shoot a 77 the first day at Old Union, that’s a great round.
“Day two at Mountain Harbour, didn’t have his best stuff at first and just rallied and continued playing and brought it back to a really, really respectable score, even in those conditions. I think the conditions were worse the second day, just the wind gusts and the swirling of the winds was different.”
Defending conference champion Connor Golden finished third with a score of 165, while his twin brother Bradey finished fourth with a score of 168 and Andrew Barolet finished sixth with a score of 175. This was Barolet’s third All-Conference selection, while it was Bradey Golden’s first after being an honorable mention last
year.
Murphy headed to the N.C. High School Athletic Association 1A West Regional Championships at Lincoln Country Club in Lincolnton on Monday. The top three teams in the region, as well as the top nine individual golfers outside of qualifying teams, will advance to the 1A state championship in Pinehurst on May 15-16.
Simmons qualified for the state tournament last year, where he finished tied for 28th out of 84 competitors.