Easley junior Barrett Owens
Jeff Holt | The Easley Progress
EASLEY — Growing up, Barrett Owens competed in gymnastics.
But at age 13, her dad (Rusty) mentioned to her about playing the sport of golf.
“I had just quit gymnastics and my dad said do you want to play golf? I didn’t even know what golf was and I just got hooked on it,” said Owens.
A junior at Easley High School, Owens recently placed 11th at the State Golf Tournament. She just missed all-state honors of finishing in the top-10.
“I’ve been going to state every year since probably eighth grade, but it was a little different (this year) because I didn’t have my team,” she said.
Owens has been named The Easley Progress Student Athlete of the Month for November. Her overall grade point average is close to 4.8 and her favorite subject in school is math.
Owens was quick to say that she missed not having her team at state. However, Green Wave Coach Matt Smith was right there to show his support and give her some great advice.
“He (Smith) was like keep the ball in play and it’s going to be fine,” Owens said. “You’ve got the game and I was like okay.”
Smith sees a ton of potential in the golf game of Owens.
“She can hit it as far as anybody out there,” he said. “She can drive it 240 yards. She actually drove the green on a par 4.”
The one thing, though, that really impressed Smith was that Owens went back to the range for three hours to practice after her first day at state.
“She’s a relentless worker,” said Coach Smith. “She learned a lot about perseverance on the golf course (at state) through some adversity as a single (competitor). I enjoyed seeing that.”
In the future, Owens is hoping to play golf in college. She said she’s already received some interest from colleges in Florida and upper state South Carolina.
She just “gets it” as a student athlete at EHS.
“It’s been a struggle to balance sports and school, but I think it helps a lot with balancing things in life,” Owens said. “It’s been great.”