Sydne Denney, a senior at Pickett County High School, was one of 50 high school and college students from across the United States who received and accepted the invitation to participate in the Down Under Sports International Golf Tournament in Brisbane, Australia in July 2015 on the United States Team.

Sydne is the daughter of Travis and Juli Denney and the granddaughter of Randall and Letha Amonett, all of Albany.

After arriving in Australia, to help recover from the jet lag and warm up their golf game, the golfers played in a four-person scramble. Each four-person team was made up of two girls and two boys.

The team Sydne was on won 2nd place in the scramble and she also won the “closest to the pin” on a par 3. Next, the golfers competed in an All-American Team Tournament, in which Sydne was a member of the winning team that won gold medals.

At that same tournament, they awarded 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place were awarded individually in a Gross Division and in a Net Division. This had to be explained to most of the American golfers because this is generally not done at golf tournaments held in the United States.

The Gross Division was the lowest actual score that was shot during the match, and the Net Division was the lowest score after taking the golfers’ actual score shot minus their handicap. Sydne took 1st place and the gold medal in the Net Division.

During the International Tournament, the American girls’ team fell short of a victory against the Australian team. Sydne was able to pick up the individual silver medal in the Net Division of the International Tournament.

This trip would not have been possible without the support of many businesses and individuals in both Byrdstown, Tennessee and Albany, Kentucky, as well as family members who live all over the United States.

Sydne expresses her gratitude to everyone who helped make this dream come true and hopes everyone can take pride in the awards that she won at the tournaments while representing Kentucky and Tennessee.