The scores were tallied, awards handed out, and a first-team all-conference nod was headed her way, but Bailey Thompson was off to side with her head down, and hands wiping away tears.
Southmont had just finished second to Lebanon at the Sagamore Conference meet by one stroke, and time was running out for the Mountie’s special senior class to earn a conference or sectional title.
“I think most of us felt like all the work we had put in was for nothing at the moment,” Thompson said. “Because that had been the goal since freshmen year.”
So with only a week to prepare for the sectional and earn redemption over the Tigers — led by Thompson, the Mounties went back to work.
“The scores were still up there from Saturday when we got there for practice on Monday,” Southmont coach Bill Whalen said. “I brought them all up there and said ‘I want to show you guys something,’ and I showed them the score again, that we got beat by one stroke and they all gave me a smirk. And Bailey went up and got it and brought it back to the putting green so they had to look at when we were practicing.”
Later that week, Thompson’s 44 at the Montgomery County meet helped lead Southmont to a county crown with a nine-hole score of 174 — tied for their second lowest of the season.
And then came the sectional.
“I’ve never wanted anything more in my life than to win that sectional,” Thompson said. “We were all pretty much focused all week and we wanted to go out and crush them.”
The Mounties fired a 357 — beating Lebanon by 17 strokes. Thompson tied for medalist honors with an 87, before falling to Lebanon’s Ella Taylor in a playoff hole.
“I felt like I was taking the SAT,” she said. “I’ve never been that focused for so long on every single shot.”
As a senior, Thompson led Southmont with the best nine-hole average of 45, the best 18-hole average of 90, shot a career-best 81 at the Western Boone Invite, and led the Mounties at the conference, sectional, and regional. These awards and accolades have earned Thompson the 2019 Journal Review Girls Golfer of the Year.
Summer Game
Thompson, a three-sport athlete, credits her continued improvement to offseason work she put in during the summer.
“Coach Whalen told us sophomore year when you’re sitting at home on the couch watching TV during the summer, someone is out there getting better than you,” she said. And coach Oakley (Southmont girls’ basketball coach) he says that it’s four years of your life that you’ll never get to do again, so you might as well go hard. Those two quotes were in my mind all summer.”
It was no coincidence that Thompson’s best scores showed up on courses that she was familiar with. In addition to Southmont’s home course at the Crawfordsville Country Club, Thompson produced some of her best rounds at Harrison Hills in Attica, and Cool Lake in Lebanon — courses she traveled to and played throughout the summer.
“My grandpa (Vance Pyle) would take me out there once a week and play with Logan (Berrisford),” Thompson said. “Just seeing the course layout, and knowing the speeds, and taking notes, and getting familiar with the course really helped us.”
Whalen noted that all football fields are 100 yards long, but each and every golf course presents its own challenges.
“In golf you’re going to get different types of greens, fairways are going to be narrow, different types of grass in the fairway,” he said. “I think in golf the home course advantage is huge, because you know the course better than anyone else does,” “And going out and being able to play those courses and knowing where to hit the ball, and where not to hit the ball I think is a huge plus when you can go out and do that.”
Strong Support
Early in the season, Thompson lost her stroke for a bit, but credits her teammates and coaches for picking her up. Along with Whalen, Thompson and her senior teammates had assistant coach Dave Williamson to lean on.
“That was great, because a lot of people have coaches who don’t know what they’re talking about,” Thompson said about Williamson. “He has taught me everything I know from junior-high. And just that he can watch our swing once and know what’s wrong with it.”
Williamson and Whalen along with Thompson and her varsity senior teammates in Logan Berrisford, Carson White, Erin Williams, and Lexi Rusk helped put the Mountie’s girls golf program on the map. The combination not only helped them improve each year, but led to many school records being shattered, the first sectional title in school history, and received votes in the final IHSGCA state rankings.
“I told Dave we are going to go into practice together — Williamson and Whalen,” Whalen joked. “He’s going to be the swing doctor, and I’m going to be the psychiatrist. He would get their swings down, and when they were having a bad round, I would walk them off the ledge. Because obviously Dave is an excellent and great teacher, and I credit him with their swings.”
Through it all, Thompson points to her entire support system for her record-breaking senior season.
“I want to thank my grandpa, and my parents for always coming and supporting me, and the paper for always coming and covering us,” she said. “And my teammates are the best teammates in the world, and we love each other, and my sisters and coaches.”
Journal Review Girls Golf All-Area Team
Bailey Thompson — Southmont
Erin Williams — Southmont
Logan Berrisford — Southmont
Carson White — Southmont
Bailey Mittal — Crawfordsville
