Two Forrest golfers qualified for next week's Region 5A/AA Tournament at Champions Run Golf Club in Rockvale with sophomore Gary Lukonen leading the way at the District 9A/AA Tournament with a solid third-place finish, while Caitlyn Burt managed to grab the last at-large spot.

Lukonen shot 81 at the Legacy in Springfield and could have come in way lower if some putts would have fallen for the Rocket duffer.

'Really good day'

"Gary had a really good day from tee to green," said FHS coach Jeremy Jean. "He missed 12 birdie putts with the longest at 10 to 12 feet. His strength was his driver and he got really close on most of his approach shots."

Forrest finished in eighth place, while Cheatham County (346) won the event, Greenbrier (348) took second, and White House (366) finished third to claim the final automatic team qualifying spot for the region tournament.

"As a team we need to realize our own individual strengths and weaknesses and play to our strengths," said Jean. "A year of growing up will help a lot."

The remainder of the Forrest boys' team, who ended up with a 424-combined score, did not fare so well with Hawken King shooting 96; Robert Garcia had a 120, Jarvis Lyttle needed 127 strokes, and Dayton Ward carded a 131.

"We have to improve in the two to four spot a lot and they have to practice and play some on their own," said Jean. "When we get back together, we are going to focus more on 60 yards and in. That is mostly where our scores drop off."

Top scorers

Greenbrier's Jacob Haley captured the top medalist spot with a 77, Eagleville's Dakota Beech (78) finished second, Lukonen (81) was third, and Greenbrier's Colby Bolton and Cheatham County's Hunter Gibbs tied for fourth, carding identical 88s.

Lukonen and Beech will most likely benefit by the region being played at Champions Run as the course is Eagleville's home tract and Lukonen has played the Rockvale links many times in the past, posting several low scores there.

"I think Gary will score better at Champions Run for a couple of reasons," said Jean. "He is very familiar with the course, he is really killing his tee shots and hitting it straight, and their greens will be in better shape."

Burt moves up

Forrest's Burt tallied a 123 for the fifth-place spot and the final berth in individual region play.

It will be Burt's second consecutive region tournament appearance.

"Caitlin had to play her way into the region and she did," said Jean. "She had a good enough day to get in and anything can happen when you get there."

The Lady Rockets shot 245 as a team with Dani Hoeft carding a 132, and Alyssa Elliot came home in 157 strokes.

Sycamore took first place with a 183, White House was second with 213, and the Eagleville Lady Eagles will also get to play the region on their home course after putting up a 217.

Eagleville's Brooklyn Snell won the top medalist honors at the Legacy Golf Club, carding an 88, while Sycamore's Dana Roberts shot 90 to finish second and Roberts' teammate Ashley Craig was third with a 93, and fourth place went to White House's Kristin Muller (98).