CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Clarksville girl’s golfer Kendall Maynard has been tearing up the links as of late.
On June 25, Maynard captured the Tennessee Golf Association (TGA) Girl’s Junior Amateur state championship at Three Ridges Golf Course.
Maynard then proceeded to follow up that win with a second-place finish in the Girl’s 16-18 Division at the Sneds Tour Two-Day Masters event located at the Bluegrass Yacht and Country Club.
When it comes to her most recent successes on the golf course, Maynard shared how she’s been able to reach the top of her game.
“In the girl’s junior, I was just trying to hit fairways and greens and make as many putts as I could,” Maynard said. “I really just wanted to play my best game against a tough field and have fun while I was doing it.
“At the Sneds Tour, I tried to do the same thing. I was a little tired coming off of the previous tournament during the first day and on the second day, I just tried to make up some strokes. I decided to go under par that day.”
Maynard shot three-under which was tied for the lowest round on day two.
In her state championship win, Maynard played her last 40 holes of the tournament without tallying a single bogey. It was that type of consistency that paid off down the stretch.
“All the pars were really just the result of me hitting a bunch of greens,” Maynard said. “If I missed, then I was just going to use my wedge game to get up-and-down, try not to make any big numbers and keep the mistakes at a minimum.”
Going into the 18th hole at Three Ridges, Maynard clung to a one-stroke lead over Gallatin’s Kynadie Adams. After landing on the fridge of the bunker off the tee, Maynard hit a clutch up-and-down shot that landed just a few feet from the hole.
Maynard then sunk the putt to eliminate a potential playoff and capture the victory.
“I didn’t really know where Kynadie was,” Maynard said. “I knew she was coming close to me, but I was just going to try to play my game and play the hole to par it. That was my main goal.”
Last year while playing for CHS, Maynard ended as the runner-up in the district tournament, took fourth place in the Region 5 tournament and eventually finished as runner-up in the state tournament.
According to Maynard, each of those competitions helped shape her into the golfer she is today.
“They showed me what I needed to improve upon,” Maynard said. “I needed to work on my wedge game in order to make as many pars as I could. I would say the main differences now would my wedge game around the green and just making my putts.”
The Clarksville native will enter her final season as a Lady Wildcat in 2020-21 with a few goals in mind.
“I hope to qualify for state and for sure probably get first,” Maynard said. “I just like to have fun and because it’s senior year, I just want to play well for me and my team. I want us to qualify for state too and win it as a team this year.”
After high school, Maynard plans to attend Belmont University where she hopes to continue setting golf courses ablaze.
“I’ve had other offers, but I love the size of the school,” Maynard said. “It wasn’t too big or too small. It’s a beautiful campus, I love the coach and love the team dynamics. I just felt at home there.”