By JEREMY TIMMERMAN
For much of the fall, the eyes of Edgefield County's high school sports fans will be focused on the football exploits of Strom Thurmond High School and Wardlaw Academy. The most historically significant accomplishment will likely be happening elsewhere, though.
No golfer, male or female, has ever won four state championships, but that record may fall this year if Strom Thurmond senior girls' golfer McKenzie Talbert has her way. She has won the Class AAA title each of her first three years in high school and has begun her quest for a fourth.
Already the first girls' golfer to win three titles, Talbert said completing another such feat would be special for her.
"It's really important to me to have those accomplishments on my resume that people have never done before," she said.
Talbert also finished in the top ten in South Carolina High School League championship play twice as a middle-schooler. She finished third as an eighth-grader and fifth during her seventh-grade year.
With five top-five finishes and three consecutive medalist honors, the expectations will be high for Talbert to bring home another title this year. The senior isn't fazed, though, and said those past achievements actually ease her mental burden.
"The things I've already done have given me enough recognition to take some pressure off myself," she said.
Having already committed to Clemson, Talbert's high school golf career won't end once the girls' season reaches its conclusion. As in years past, Talbert will compete with the Rebel boys' team in the spring. For most of her high school career, that has meant having to play against such opponents as former Pelion golfer and Clemson freshman Cody Proveaux, one of the top junior golfers in the country during his high school years.
Now, with Proveaux having graduated and the Rebels moving up from Class AA to AAA in all sports, Talbert will have a new crowd of rivals, including last year's runner-up, Will Hicks of Camden. Only a sophomore, Hicks could provide the biggest threat to what could be Talbert's fifth state championship in four years.
If Talbert can rise above Hicks and the rest of the boys' field, she said collecting a boys' title would be huge for her. She also recognized how tough that would be.
"You know, that's something that's never been done and, maybe, never will be done," she said.
Dru Nix, associate commissioner of the SCHSL, confirmed that a boys' title would be yet another first-in-the-state for Talbert.
"To my knowledge, no girl has ever won a boys' title," Nix said.
She added that having girls' golfers gaining attention for their achievements in the state can only help grow the game with younger girls.
"I think it certainly encourages young girls to get out and play, start swinging a club," Nix said.
Talbert knows all about having role models in the sport she now plays. Her father was tournament chair for the LPGA event at Mount Vintage Plantation when she was younger, and that gave her the opportunity to "get inside the ropes" and meet the golfers while she was volunteering at the event. She even said that the pros would often remember her from years past.
Now that Talbert is the one winning tournaments and state titles, she's excited about the opportunity to be a positive influence on the girls coming up behind her in the game.
"It's awesome because, obviously, I have a lot of role models that have done the same for me," Talbert said.
The SCHSL Class AAA girls' golf championship is scheduled for Oct. 22 and 23 at North Myrtle Beach, while the boys' title tournament is set for sometime in May.
Jeremy Timmerman has a journalism degree from Mercer University and has been at the Aiken Standard since June 2010.![]()
For much of the fall, the eyes of Edgefield County's high school sports fans will be focused on the football exploits of Strom Thurmond High School and Wardlaw Academy. The most historically significant accomplishment will likely be happening elsewhere, though.
No golfer, male or female, has ever won four state championships, but that record may fall this year if Strom Thurmond senior girls' golfer McKenzie Talbert has her way. She has won the Class AAA title each of her first three years in high school and has begun her quest for a fourth.
Already the first girls' golfer to win three titles, Talbert said completing another such feat would be special for her.
"It's really important to me to have those accomplishments on my resume that people have never done before," she said.
Talbert also finished in the top ten in South Carolina High School League championship play twice as a middle-schooler. She finished third as an eighth-grader and fifth during her seventh-grade year.
With five top-five finishes and three consecutive medalist honors, the expectations will be high for Talbert to bring home another title this year. The senior isn't fazed, though, and said those past achievements actually ease her mental burden.
"The things I've already done have given me enough recognition to take some pressure off myself," she said.
Having already committed to Clemson, Talbert's high school golf career won't end once the girls' season reaches its conclusion. As in years past, Talbert will compete with the Rebel boys' team in the spring. For most of her high school career, that has meant having to play against such opponents as former Pelion golfer and Clemson freshman Cody Proveaux, one of the top junior golfers in the country during his high school years.
Now, with Proveaux having graduated and the Rebels moving up from Class AA to AAA in all sports, Talbert will have a new crowd of rivals, including last year's runner-up, Will Hicks of Camden. Only a sophomore, Hicks could provide the biggest threat to what could be Talbert's fifth state championship in four years.
If Talbert can rise above Hicks and the rest of the boys' field, she said collecting a boys' title would be huge for her. She also recognized how tough that would be.
"You know, that's something that's never been done and, maybe, never will be done," she said.
Dru Nix, associate commissioner of the SCHSL, confirmed that a boys' title would be yet another first-in-the-state for Talbert.
"To my knowledge, no girl has ever won a boys' title," Nix said.
She added that having girls' golfers gaining attention for their achievements in the state can only help grow the game with younger girls.
"I think it certainly encourages young girls to get out and play, start swinging a club," Nix said.
Talbert knows all about having role models in the sport she now plays. Her father was tournament chair for the LPGA event at Mount Vintage Plantation when she was younger, and that gave her the opportunity to "get inside the ropes" and meet the golfers while she was volunteering at the event. She even said that the pros would often remember her from years past.
Now that Talbert is the one winning tournaments and state titles, she's excited about the opportunity to be a positive influence on the girls coming up behind her in the game.
"It's awesome because, obviously, I have a lot of role models that have done the same for me," Talbert said.
The SCHSL Class AAA girls' golf championship is scheduled for Oct. 22 and 23 at North Myrtle Beach, while the boys' title tournament is set for sometime in May.
Jeremy Timmerman has a journalism degree from Mercer University and has been at the Aiken Standard since June 2010.