Nov. 2—This fall, sports around Western North Carolina were brought to a standstill following Helene’s devastation. For Tuscola senior golfer McKenna Williams, the storm quite literally hit close to home.
For her entire life, she’s lived at Springdale Resort in Cruso. As flood waters rose on that Friday morning, she went out to take a look at the damage.
“It was really sad because where I’ve played forever and lived forever was destroyed, but I know that where we live will come together and bring it back to how it was,” Williams said. “I saw the river rushing down hole five. It came across the road. It was sad to see all the destruction to the course.”
After the storm, she lost about a week of play, but she never stopped her swing. She hit some balls into the woods from her driveway, hit balls into the woods at her grandmother’s house and made it on to Maggie Valley’s course once it opened up. That course also hosted the final round of the conference championships.
“We were hitting range balls into the woods because we didn’t have a golf course or range that was open for a good four or five days, but we had to keep the swing going,” said Sean Williams, McKenna’s father and coach for the last seven years.
There was another factor at play, as well. With so much unknown, many senior athletes in Haywood County and Western North Carolina as a whole didn’t know what would happen to the final year of their high school careers.
“I didn’t know if we would even be able to finish out the golf season,” McKenna Williams said. “I hadn’t seen what had happened to any of the courses and we didn’t know when we’d go back to school, but I kept my swing going to be prepared for conference (championships) to get our fourth conference championship team win.”
The hard work and determination paid off, as Williams earned first place in the conference championship and first place among the top 90 golfers in the western portion of the state.
On Tuesday, her high school career came to an end after her fourth straight appearance in the state championship tournament.
This year, however, was different for Williams. For the first time in her four years, the rest of her Mountaineer teammates were there on the course with her.
“It was really special,” McKenna Williams said. “Going to state all four years was a really amazing experience. My last year, having my whole team there was like the icing on top of the cake. It was really cool. It made for a special ending to the golf season. It was sad, but it had a happy ending.”
It was a busy week and a half for the senior.
Williams led the team to state one week prior at regionals. The senior claimed an individual regional title, while the team also claimed the team championship. The following Friday, just three days before the state championships began, Williams was named Tuscola’s homecoming queen.
“I was super excited about everything,” Williams said. “Adrenaline was helping for sure. It was a great week.”
Adding to everything was the fact that her dad, Sean Williams, was there by her side through it all. He’s coached his daughter for the last seven years — starting ahead of her sixth grade year in middle school and coaching her all the way up through her senior year of high school.
“It’s been awesome,” Sean Williams said. “To think that if I didn’t coach her, what we might’ve missed. We might have missed all of this. Luckily, the story was already written seven years ago when I started coaching her in middle school.”
But that all could have been different. Sean Williams said he remembers when his daughter first came to him and asked him to coach golf. He told her he didn’t have enough time to take on the additional responsibility.
One snow day, the two were out for lunch. Beforehand, he had no intention of discussing golf, but as he sat down, he said the Holy Spirit came over him and told him that he would be coaching.
“She had the biggest smile on her face,” Sean Williams said. “The good Lord, he takes care of me.”
The senior said she and her dad used to ski together, but now they golf together.
“It was really cool,” McKenna Williams said. “I loved having my dad as a coach. Not everyone gets to experience that even though sometimes it’s harder because parents are sometime hard to get along with. My dad and I have always loved to be together.”
When the season resumed, Tuscola did just what they set out to — earning a fourth-straight Mountain 7 crown. After the win at regionals, the team headed out to the Longleaf Golf and Family Club in Southern Pines to compete for the state title.
After the first round, Williams sat tied for fifth individually with an 81 on the scoreboard.
She said her experience on the big stage played a big part in her performance.
“I remember my first year at state, I could barely swing on the tee,” McKenna Williams said. “This year, I didn’t have those harsh nerves. I’ve done it before and I’d get through it. I had my team there, so I had to perform for the team. I had to let those nerves not get to me.”
On day two, she shot better with a 78 but slid down to the sixth-place spot she finished in. The finish put Williams among the best of the best in the state, as she outclassed many of the state’s top golfers at the 3A level.
After hitting a good tee shot on the first hole, the senior said she was ready to go.
“Day two for me, I realized it was my last round at state ever,” she said. “I was kind of like this is all or nothing. I have to do good today or it’s all done. Why not end it off on a good round?”
Williams has verbally committed to continue her golf career at Division-II Tusculum University.
While her high school career has wrapped up, the father-daughter duo has plenty of memories from their seven years as coach and player.
“It was incredible to watch,” Sean Williams said. “There’s been a lot of heartache, a lot of tears, a lot of pain, but there’s been a lot of joy, a lot of success and a lot of happiness.”
