Warren East High Schools Daniel Benson chips the ball onto the first green (his 10th hole of the day) during the state golf tournament at Barren River State Park on Thursday. Photo by Clinton Lewis

GLASGOW Could Glasgow High School prove to be not-so-gracious hosts this year and sweep both the boys and girls state golf titles?That question will be answered Friday for the Scotties, who are just five strokes off Paducah Tilghmans first-day score of 297 at Barren River Lake State Resort Park. The Lady Scotties won their fourth consecutive team state golf title Wednesday at Glasgow Golf and Country Club. Rounding out the boys top five from Thursdays opening round are Green County (third, 309), George Rogers Clark (fourth, 311) and Covington Catholic (fifth, 314).George Rogers Clark lost the 1999 state title to Louisville St. Xavier in a playoff at Gibson Bay Golf Course, but the Tigers now are in sixth 18 shots off Tilghmans lead. Bowling Green, which finished eighth in 1999, barely made the cut for the top 14 teams. The Purples are tied for 13th with Elizabethtown at 323 two strokes ahead of 15th place North Hardin, which now is out of team contention. Covington Catholics Mark Erlewine led the chase for the individual title after carding a 2-under-par 70, but storm warnings lie ahead. Closely following Erlewine are Tilghmans Brett Jones, who carded a 1-under-par 71, and his teammate, Kyle Ramey, who finished at even par. Rounding out the top five are Daviess Countys Andrew Warren and Madison Centrals Ben Stephens, who finished the first round at 1-over-par 73.Glasgow has four players in the top 25. The Scotties are led by Josh McCrackens 2-over-par 74, which put him in a five-way tie for sixth along with Russellvilles Hamilton Wheeler. Rounding out the Scotties scores are Jason Fryia, Aaron Flener and Jamie Frazier, who are in an eight-way tie for 17th after carding 4-over-par 76s.Bowling Greens top finisher is eighth-grader Jordan Blann, who is tied for 32nd with seven other golfers after an opening round 6-over-par 78.Heres how other southcentral Kentucky golfers fared during the first day of competition: 25th Kyle Shirley, Barren County 38-38 —7761st Matt Morrison, Bowling Green 42-39 —8161st Kelly Violette, Bowling Green 41-40 —8184th Chase Kelly, Bowling Green 38-45 —83100th Steven Rogers, Bowling Green 44-41 —85110th Daniel Benson, Warren East 41-46 —87124th Kelly Matney, Glasgow 47-43 —90