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John Cooper's Claggett a super-soph on the links

Tillie Claggett exploded onto the Texas golf scene as a John Cooper School freshman finishing third at the SPC State Tournament…yes, as a freshman.

She's back a ready for a big sophomore season with some lofty goals ahead of her. Claggett recently defended her championship at BlackHorse Golf Club while shooting a 72.

The Calgary-native took up golf playing with her dad and fell in love the sport after a few lessons.

"I'd love to play professional golf and am fortunate to have a family that would be able to sport me through that," she said.

She knocked off St. John's Christine Wang (USC-signee), the nation's No. 10 overall player, in a tournament last season but Wang got the best of her in the SPC tourney.

"I'd like to hopefully challenge her this season and take her down in the championship," she said.

Claggett is a confident underclassman and her athleticism is apparent on the course.

"My strength is my distance and my aggressiveness," she said. "I'm an athletic person on the course and hit it further than everyone else. My ball-striking is my advantage."