Golf may not be the most notable sport in Wyoming County, but Westside and Wyoming East have each had their fair share of success in recent years on the links.
The latest name on the long list of excellent golfers from the basketball crazy county is Kerri-Anne Cook, a rising junior at Westside High School.
Cook is by no means a newcomer to the golf spotlight.
Defending West Virginia Jr. Amateur champion and 2021 Player of the Year on the Callaway Jr. Tour are both trophies that bare her name.
There is no doubt that 2021 was a banner year for Cook, but could 2022 be even bigger?
Golf is a funny game, but the early success this year for the young phenom has been nothing short of amazing.
In 12 events on the Callaway Junior Tour, Cook has tallied the lowest round in 10 of them.
Even though she earned the top honor on the Junior Tour last year, Cook did not rest on her laurels and worked to get better.
“My swing has been pretty good this summer. I have really been working on it a lot and I have been able to iron a few things out that I had issues with last summer,” Cook said. “I have been working on trying to slow my swing down and (work on) my thought process a little to eliminate the high numbers.”
This past Wednesday, the hard work paid big dividends when she faced an extreme mental test during the Callaway event at Greenhills Country Club in Ravenswood.
An errant tee shot on the par-4 opening hole led to an eight, getting her round off on the wrong foot.
“My first tee shot went (out of bounds) and my second one almost went (out of bounds) again,” Cook explained. “I was just trying to make it through and keep the rest of the round even and (hopefully) come back a little.”
While Cook admitted having the remaining holes helped her, it was also a situation where the round could have fallen apart and led to a big number if she had lost focus.
That was not the case.
Cook gathered herself and played the final 17 holes at 2-under par to win by four shots. She also finished with a flurry by making an eagle and two birdies over the final four holes.
The Westside standout also had another solid showing at the 99th West Virginia Women’s Amateur last week at Berry Hills in Charleston, gaining more valuable experience.
“It was a really fun experience and encouraging. I can see how they play and how they handle mistakes,” Cook said. “I can also see how they handle themselves around the greens.”
With high the high school golf season on the doorstep, Cook still has a couple of big events to play before turning her attention to another trip to the state tournament in Wheeling.
Monday she will first look to defend her West Virginia Junior Amateur title at the two-day event played at Sleepy Hollow Golf & Country in Hurricane.
While Cook is more than capable of bringing home the title, it will by no means be an easy task.
Included in the talented field will be her good friend Savannah Hawkins. The Hurricane native won the 2020 tournament and lost to Cook in a nail-biting playoff last year.
“I have played the course a couple of times before. I just want to keep my swing going like it has been the past few days and see what happens,” Cook said. “I think my key will be (hitting) fairways and greens which will be my biggest help.
Cook and Hawkins will play in the same group and tee off at 8:45 a.m.
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On the boy’s side of the tournament, there will be a bevy of players that could bring home the title including former Woodrow Wilson standout, Zan Hill who is the reigning Class AAA state champion.
“I played there two years ago. The Callaway Junior Tour plays up there,” Hill said. “I have good memories at Sleepy. It is pretty open driving it up there. Obviously you have to hit the ball decently well to score, but it is about making putts and staying out of big numbers there.”
Argyle Downes from Charles Town is back to defend the Junior Am title he won last year, along with Cameron Jarvis who Hill battled to the last putt for the AAA title.
Bryson Beaver from Herbert Hoover and Shady Spring standout, Tanner Vest finished top two respectively in the Class AA tournament last October. Beaver was runner-up in the Junior Am last year and Vest came home fourth.
The two good friends combined earlier in the year to to win the W.Va. Four-Ball Championship besting some of the biggest names in W.Va. amateur golf.
Mario Palumbo, Austin Willard and Anderson Goldman will also be contenders after leading George Washington to the Class AAA team title last year.
Goldman tied Beaver for second in the 2021 Junior Am.
After finishing sixth a year ago, Hill feels like he has the game to move to the top of the leaderboard.
“I haven’t been driving it particularly well, but all the other facets of the game have been really good lately,” Hill said. “I just need to overcome that and get started well. If I can hit a couple of good tee balls and get me on the right path to give me confidence, I definitely feel like I can play well.”