(by Don Meador, December 23, 2022)
For Allen County-Scottsville golfer Rafe Blankenship playing golf for the high school team----much less for a national collegiate power---was the furthest thing from his mind six years ago. However, after five years as a Patriot golfer and a superb senior season, Blankenship signed last week to continue his golfing career as a member of the Lindsey Wilson College Blue Raiders.
“Lindsey Wilson is a really dominant program right now,” Blankenship said. “It’s a good opportunity for me to be able to develop as a golfer and as a student. Lindsey is good program I was drawn to. It’s a good culture.”
Blankenship---the Kentucky High School Athletic Association Region 3 golf champion----heads to Lindsey Wilson following a whirlwind five years of learning the sport.
“I have not played golf as long as most,” Blankenship noted. “I started in eighth grade. I had always been around golf but I never played. I was in basketball and baseball. Other kids started growing and I did not so that set me back in the other sports. I got a little bored. My friends were on golf course so I started and fell in love with it. The last couple of years, I’ve spend as much time on the course as anyone.”
To add to Blankenship’s story, an accident during his sophomore year injured his shoulder, thus limiting his time on the course. Blankenship rebounded, fine-tuned his skills through junior golf summer events, and gradually used his natural skills to become a state contender this year.
On September 12, Blankenship missed a putt on the first hole of sudden death that would have given him the championship crown of the 2A Championships. His runner-up finish in the 2A was followed by a second place the following day in the District 15 tournament (AC-S, Barren County, Glasgow, and Warren East) at the Scottsville Country Club.
This season, Blankenship also qualified for the Kentucky Golf Coaches Association (KGCA) All-State tournament in Lexington. The All-State selection was based on overall scoring through a series of events throughout the summer and in the fall high school season. After playing 36 holes of golf in Lexington over two days, Blankenship regrouped to win the Region 3 title on September 19----the first for an AC-S golfer since 2004. He capped his senior season as a participant in the final rounds at the KHSAA state tournament.
Following graduation in May, Blankenship will turn his attention to college golf---ready to face the challenges of the next level.
“The courses distance in college will be longer,” Blankenship explained. “You are surrounded by really good players. You also have to figure out how to manage academics and athletics as you continue to develop as a person.”
Veteran Blue Raider coach Eric Wyrick is excited to have Blankenship on his roster.
“It’s awesome to have a regional talent that has stood out the last few years come to Lindsey,” coach Eric Wyrick said. “We have seen Rafe’s development over the last few years. He is a hard worker. You don’t get better at our sport, year in and year out, without having a drive and work effect. He continues to get better. We think he is a very polished young man and player and he has impressed us with the complete package. He is good in the classroom. We are excited to have him coming to us.”
Blankenship will transition to one of the top NAIA golf programs in the country.
“We have had a good couple or years, “coach Wyrick added. “We are currently the number one ranked team in the country according to our statistical analysis and are top three in the coaches’ poll. This past fall, we played five tournaments and won all five. We are proud of what’s being built.”
Blankenship is the fourth AC-S player in the past four years to sign to play colligate golf. Owen Stamper is playing at Middle Tennessee State University, Bryson Bonds plays at Brescia and Tyler Ford is on the University of Pikeville squad.