With spring time finally here former and current Salem golfers are out on the links at various tournaments and events. The Spartans have had success on the course in recent years and the hard work of the players in the off-season is one of the reasons.
Kathryn Ha, a 2025 Salem High graduate, is in her inaugural season at Vanderbilt and has been a key contributor for the Commodores. She opened her collegiate career at the world famous Pebble Beach Golf Links. She has competed in six of the eight events for Vanderbilt and has six rounds at at or under par. Her season best is a 69 (-2) that came in the Mason Rudolph Championship at Vanderbilt Legends Club. Vanderbilt is currently ranked 15th in the country and Kathryn is one of the top 200 D1 players in the country. She has a scoring average of 73.06 on the season with three Top 20 finishes.
Taylor Davis is a 2024 SHS grad and a sophomore at Christopher Newport University. She finished her freshman year with an 83.5 (+12) scoring average, playing in five tournaments with one top 20 finish. This year, she has elevated her game to a new level including setting a CNU record. She finished the Savannah Invitational with a 145 (-1) to set the 36 hole CNU scoring record. This year she has played in 8 events for the Captains and has two top 10 finishes with four top 20 finishes.
Salem grad Macy Johnson, a junior at Radford University, has won three collegiate tournaments at Radford. In her first two seasons, she owns two of the top five scoring season averages all time for the university. She has tied the lowest score 66 (-6 @ the 2024 Pirate Collegiate Classic) in Program History and helped lead Radford to a team Big South Championship in 2025. This season, Macy has one top 20 finish with a scoring average of 77.55 with one more regular season tournament before the Big South Championship.
Current Salem High golfers have also been busy.
“We’ve had Spartans playing in tournaments all over the country with numerous top five finishes and one win,” said Salem High Blaine Hancock. “One of our Spartan JV team members from this past season, Andrew Lewis eighth grader Chloe Collins, and her partner Savreen Kaur (Hidden Valley Middle School) took on a loaded field of Varsity players in the VSGA JGC (Virginia State Golf Association Junior Golf Circuit) Four Ball at Hunting Hills Country Club on March 15. Chloe and Savreen combined for five birdies on the day and found themselves crowned as the co-champions.”
Chloe and Savreen finished tied for 30th in the MAPGA/VSGA Junior Four-Ball Championship. They were the youngest team in the field and beat many older competitors.
Salem junior, and last year’s Class 4 State Champion, Ashnoor Kaur started her 2026 tournament season off with a bang in Lewisville, TX at the Kathy Whitworth Invitational. Ashnoor opened up the tournament with a 68 (-4) performance and that boosted her to a top five finish. She finished tied for fourth with a 143 (-1) performance on the week against a loaded field of 70 players from all over the country.
“She racked up six birdies over the tournament,” said Hancock. “Ashnoor continues to elevate her game. She has verbally committed to play D1 golf at Missouri University after the conclusion of her high school career. She’s got a big year of tournaments in front of her.
After being one of the youngest to qualify for girls’ state and finishing in the top 25, Salem freshmen McKenzie Eversole also got her 2026 campaign off to a great start. On the weekend of March 15 she competed in the PKBGT (Peggy Kirk Bell Girls Tour) Commonwealth Classic at Lake Monticello Golf Club in Palmyra, VA.
McKenzie competed in the Future National division against girls from all over the east coast. She finished tied for second and claimed four birdies on the weekend.
“This was a great start for McKenzie, playing against an elevated field,” said Hancock. “Her game continues to get better and we are excited to see her compete in bigger events against a high level of competition this year.”
Also making their 2026 debuts were Salem High sophomores Mike Bateman and Will Creger and eighth grader Turner Hall.
“All three had a solid showing, finishing near the top 10 in their events,” said Hancock. “They’ve been putting in a lot of work this offseason to improve. It’s going to be a great year for our Spartan golfers.”
