Mt. Juliet High golfer gets PGA-style treatment

By ANDY REED

Sports Editor

Mt. Juliet golfer Stoney Crouch may not ever play on the PGA Tour, but he has received some of the star treatment the pros receive.

The Golden Bear senior was one of 16 golfers from across the state to play in the inaugural Tennessee Junior Cup this past weekend at Vanderbilt Legend's Course in Franklin.

The field was split into East vs. West with Interstate 65 as the dividing line. Crouch played on the East team captained by Tour regular Scott Stallings of Knoxville, who won the 2011 Greenbrier Classic. Nashville's Brandt Snedeker captained the West.

The PGA stars made sure the high schoolers were not lacking for anything as each received two pairs of shirts, towels, hat, balls, gloves, tees, snacks, suitcases, etc.

"Stallings said he wanted to treat us like they get treated on the PGA Tour," Crouch said Monday night. "If we wanted it, they got it for us."

Crouch and his partner, longtime high school rival Kevin Lee of Hendersonville, lost their four-ball match Saturday. But Crouch won his individual match 2-1 over Matt Strube of Memphis on Sunday.

But Snedeker's West team got the 12 points needed to win the Cup, which will be held every year by the Tennessee Golf Association at its new home, the Grove Golf Course in College Grove.

Crouch qualified for the Cup based on his season play in the TGA, but he's coming off an outstanding high school senior season. He won the Hendersonville Invitational, the Wilson Cup at Lebanon Golf & Country Club and the District 9-AAA championship.

He finished second in the Region 5-AAA, but still qualified for the State Tournament at Willowbrook in Manchester, where he shot 78 and 72 three weeks ago.

Like many high school seniors, Crouch is trying to decide where to attend college. He said he's received offers to play for Union University in Jackson and Wallace State in Alabama, and is talking to a few other schools.

Sports Editor Andy Reed can be reached at 444-3952, ext. 17; or by email at andy.reed@lebanondemocrat.com