Talley running away with state title

Caldwell County's Emma Talley is on course to roll to her first state golf title. Talley holds a seven-shot lead over Lydia Gumm of North Hardin at the turn in Wednesday's second round at Bowling Green Country Club, but will have to come back on Thursday morning to finish off the competition.

Rain over the last two days pushed the schedule back to the point that Talley didn't finish her first round until Wednesday afternoon. Talley shot an 65 in the opening round and held a seven-shot lead as she stepped on to the No. 1 tee box. Talley was 2-under-par on the front nine, and at the moment Gumm is the only player under par — she was 3-under on the front nine.

Talley and Gumm are playing together, which is nothing unusual for them. They've competed against each other in a slew of regional and national junior tournaments over the years — Dan Talley, Emma's father, estimates they've played more than 50 rounds together over a period of several years — and they are good friends.

This could become an annual battle at the state tournament. Talley is a freshman and Gumm, who leads in points for Kentucky's Miss Golf award, is an eighth grader.