WC freshman golfer Whittington to defend state title this week

Karley Whittington stands about 5-foot-2, is only 15 years old, and the blue and silver state championship ring on her right hand seems bigger than her head.

In the world of Mississippi high school golf, however, Whittington is a giant who is on the verge of authoring a legendary career.

The Warren Central freshman will go for her second consecutive individual state championship when the MHSAA girls Class III tournament begins Monday morning at Clear Creek Golf Course.

Class III consists of schools in Classes 5A and 6A in other sports. Warren Central is also the defending state team champion.

Whittington is eager to add another state title to an already impressive resumé. She’ll have a target on her back as the defending champion on her home course, but said she’ll use it as motivation.

“I try not to let the pressure get to me. It is a lot of pressure,” she said. “I like the attention because it motivates me to get better. I’d like to show them this is not as good as I am. I can always improve.”

Since she started playing regularly at the age of 9, Whittington has done nothing but get better. She started racking up wins on the junior circuit, then took her game to the high school level a year early.

As an eighth grader in 2014, she won the Class III championship at Clear Creek by five strokes last year and led Warren Central to its first team championship in any sport since 2001.

She has not lost a high school tournament so far this high school season, and has won four times already at Clear Creek.

All of the success has made her set her sights on not just one state championship, but five.

“It seems like a huge goal. But it’s a goal I’m going to be able to accomplish because I’m going to work hard to win it,” Whittington said. “I’m just going to have that confidence going into the first round.”

For all she’s accomplished, there is still one thing Whittington still needs to cross off her bucket list.

Beating her older brother.

Chris Whittington is the four-time defending Warren County champion. He’s also been Karley’s friend, teacher and golf guru since her first day on the course.

“He’s helped me a lot,” Karley Whittington said. “My dad used to pay him to give me lessons when he was in high school because he needed the money. We’d be out here on the driving range and he’d turn the lights on at the tennis courts so we could keep working when it got dark.”

During the lessons, the two developed a sibling rivalry. Karley desperately wants to beat Chris, but hasn’t yet been able to when the two play head to head or in the same tournament.

She posted a lower score at last year’s Warren County Championship, but was playing from the shorter women’s tees while Chris played from the longer championship tees. She took some playful jabs at her brother that day, but shrugged off the win as “not counting.”

“My drive comes from knowing I want to beat my brother,” she said with a laugh. “He doesn’t have to try to be good. I have to work to be good.”

Other family members have also played a pivotal role in her development. Karley’s mother, Traci Whittington, attends every tournament. Her father, Daryle Whittington, pushes her just as hard as Chris does.

“When I shot a 71 out here, (Daryle) said he was happy, but told me I could have done even better,” Karley said.

Karley’s fan club and support group goes well beyond the immediate family.

St. Aloysius senior golfer Laura Phillips is a close friend — and frequent challenger — as are St. Al boys golfers Gabriel Riveros and Channing Curtis.

The St. Al contingent has several state championships of its own to brag about, and has been another driving force behind Whittington’s success.

“It helps a lot. Channing got good all of a sudden, which makes me want to get good. He’s like a brother to me,” Whittington said. “Laura pushes me more than anyone. It helps me a lot having friends out here that push me to get better.”

Whittington will tee off in the first group, at 8:30 a.m., both days of the 36-hole tournament Monday and Tuesday. She’ll face plenty of competition.

St. Martin’s Sydney Cato and Tupelo’s Michaela Bryan are back after finishing second and third, respectively, last year. D’Iberville’s Hannah Levi won the Region 7 championship and is one of the better golfers in the southern half of the state.