GOLF: Beasley wins low medal, West Laurens captures flag as AAA state champions

It was fairly early this spring when members of the West Laurens boys golf team began to sense a bit of destiny that lay at the end of their 2025 season. 

The Raiders, with a rare collection of talent featuring multiple rising stars, tapped into a great deal of that elite potential down the stretch of April, which they wrapped up with an unbeaten match record and the 2-AAA area title. 

The prodigious group, early this week, went on to make its mark – and a distinctive one at that – in the GHSA history books as it traveled to LaGrange for the AAA state tournament Monday and Tuesday. 

West Laurens endured a challenging final round to maintain its late lead, and capture the school’s first-ever state golf championship. Freshman Braceton Beasley, with a top two-day score of 145, also made history as the Raiders’ first state tourney low medalist. 

All year, the freshman and sophomore-dominated team clearly had the makings of some greatness in the long run, but went on to begin playing with that championship edge right away. 

“Those guys, they expected to win,” said West Laurens head coach Whitney Alligood. “Second place would’ve been a disappointment for them. Last month, they had set a goal that they wanted to win it and they started to feel like they could win.

“It’s an impressive group, and they’re young… They could have a couple of good years where they’re in the top two or three of the state every year, and maybe win it a couple of times.” 

The team’s combined 36-hole total (counting its top four daily scores) was 629 strokes, good for a final advantage of seven over runner-up North Hall (636) and nine on homestanding LaGrange, which finished third. 

Beasley, netting out at a stroke over par for the event, would also close with a seven-shot lead on the next closest challenger, North Hall’s Tyler Matson. Brody Graham, who held the tournament lead after day 1, was the Raiders’ next-highest individual, at seventh overall on the final leaderboard. 

West Laurens’ girls team, playing in its fifth consecutive state tournament, came in shorthanded with two of its four members unable to compete due to an injury and scheduling conflict. 

Valley Stewart and Bailey Jean Logan both posted solid rounds to place the Lady Raiders at 10th on the overall leaderboard. 

Jefferson was 52 over par for the AAA girls state title. 

Alligood described host course Highland Country Club as a hilly track with narrow fairways that made for “a daunting task” all week, especially considering the home-course advantage held by LaGrange, which entered the event as the second seed from its area and was right in the mix until the very end Tuesday afternoon. 

West Laurens players also didn’t get as good a feel as they’d’ve liked for how the venue played during a Sunday practice round that was repeatedly interrupted by thunderstorms, allowing them to get in only 14-15 of the 18 holes they’d hoped to play. 

Nevertheless, the Raiders opened the tournament strong, with Graham’s 74 leading the entire pack after a day. 

Beasley followed with a 76 and Wade Martin with a 77 to anchor the first-place showing. Lane Neal dealt with a little trouble on 18 after his drive was embedded in the mud, but regrouped to shoot 82.  Those scores added up to a 309. 

“I thought it was important to get off to a good start,” Alligood said. “We are a young team with three freshmen, two sophomores, and one junior. There is a lot of pressure at state, but the guys showed up on day 1, and put a good number on the board.” 

Tuesday’s round was a slight setback, but amounted to a plenty-strong 320, with Jake Harden (82), Will Tribble (82) and Graham (85) stepping up to carry the day behind the difference-making round of Beasley, who fired an outstanding 3-under-par 69 to pull into the overall lead. 

“Braceton is the man,” Alligood said. “He locked in and put us on his back. He’s a machine when it comes to ball-striking, and between the ears, there is no one better. It’s crazy to watch him and see a freshman manage a course the way he does. He is a special talent.” 

Compared to day 1, Tuesday wasn’t the team’s sharpest performance. 

Adversity of the round itself went along with some tough elements to get West Laurens sweating it out after some fairly late-afternoon tee times. 

“It got pretty hot,” Alligood said. “It’s a tough walk, a lot of walking, and it was warm and a grind. They did good, though. They did fine with it.” 

Things started well, but the pressure – as you’d expect – was beginning to mount. 

As it would turn out, the Tuesday rally came not from the Grangers, but North Hall, which started out the day 19 strokes back in fourth (behind Oconee County in third).

“Watching that scoreboard, that stuff is stressful,” Alligood said. “North Hall really played well, and we weren’t playing well.” 

The Trojans would wind up cutting their lead of as much as 16 strokes down to roughly seven, but the Raiders weathered the storm. 

“They just kept playing. There was a little drama, but they worked through it,” Alligood said. “They had to really focus up and work through everything that was going wrong.” 

By the final few holes, it became clear the gap for both contending teams would be too wide to span. 

West Laurens, with the team title locked up, got to surround the 18th green to watch as Beasley – who enjoyed a similar lead at the end of his round – holed a par putt to wrap things up with a bow. 

“It was really exciting for Braceton to come up and finish in front of everybody,” Alligood said. “That was kind of neat to watch him putt out. We knew we had won both.” 

It was then time for the team – made up of Harden, Graham, Beasley, Martin, Neal, Will Tribble and coaches Alligood and Gabe Gay – to be presented the state championship trophy, along with the flag from the 18th pin and championship T-shirts. 

Looking back, each of the Raiders’ players will be able to come away knowing they had a hand in bringing home the state title. 

“I am so proud of the work ethic, character and commitment of the guys,” Alligood said. “Every player contributed a score that helped us accomplish this amazing achievement. It really was a team effort in an individual sport… and it’s great to make a little history at West Laurens.”