Houck paces JCHS

Playing on their home course, Drew Houck and Evan Mathias knew exactly what they wanted to do with every shot. And for the most part, accomplished it.
Houck, a senior, got off to a quick start and didn’t have a bogey until the final hole Thursday. His career-best 1-under-par 34 at Portland Golf Club teamed with a 39 from Mathias to lead Jay County to a 165-199 victory over the visiting Bluffton Tigers.
“Surprise, surprise,” said JCHS coach Butch Gray, whose team had its best score of the year by 14 strokes. “Getting back to your own course where everyone is comfortable and familiar (helps).
“It’s nice to have your one and two do that and then you feed off of it.
“If we can keep them shooting good rounds, we can find the combination that can make us a little more successful as the year goes on.”
Houck got off to an outstanding start after hitting his second shot on the 335-year, par-4 first hole to the top side of the green on the 10th hole at PGC. His 10-foot, downhill putt started right, curved left and then came back to the right before dropping into the hole for a birdie.
“It’s always good to get confidence, especially to start off with something like that,” said Houck. “Whether it’s lucky or not, it seems like when you see the ball go in the hole as a golfer it starts to build up some confidence and build some momentum for the rest of the round.”
He followed up his opening birdie with a par on the 11th hole and then pushed his score to 2-under-par on the 12th. His third shot — a chip from about 40 yards out — on the 498-yard, par-5 hole landed on the sloping green, rolled past the hole on the left side and then back down around the right to within a couple of feet. He rolled in the putt for his second birdie of the day and then kept the momentum going.
Houck racked up five straight pars, nailing a 10-foot putt on the 16th hole and tapping in on No. 17 after leaving his birdie putt just six inches short. His lone bogey of the day came on the 178-yard, par-3 18th as he posted the best score of his career by two strokes.
“It’s pretty awesome,” said Houck, noting that he thought his short game was the key. “I just kept everything under control. I slowed down my swing. I had a good tempo. Every shot felt like it was just in rhythm.”
Spencer Barnell led the Tigers with a 48, and Carson Addington shot 49.
Mathias, a freshman, also got his round off to a strong start Thursday. After hitting a par putt on the 10th hole, his chip from about 20 yards out on his fourth shot on No. 12 rolled to within a foot of the cup. He tapped in for his second par to sit at 1-under for the round.
After a bogey on the 13th hole, he recorded a birdie on the 520-yard, par-5 14th and added pars on the 15th and 17th on the way to his 39.
“Evan has played so much,” said Gray. “When he comes out on this course, he thinks he owns it. …
“He hit one bad shot (on No. 16), but he was able to overcome it and come back and finish and play well.”
Justen Keller had the only other par for the Patriots on the 14th hole as he finished with a 45. Austin Mann rounded out the team score with a 47 as the top four JCHS golfers all shot better than everyone on the Bluffton squad.
Ritchie Carducci finished with a 51.

Junior varsity
Jay County cruised to victory by more than 30 strokes, defeating the Tigers 209-245.
Evan Ryder led the Patriots as he finished with two pars on the way to a 48. Each of the other JCHS scorers had one par as Colby Cline finished with a 49, Nathan Drumm shot 54 and Adam Alfont added a 58.
Ian Betz led Bluffton with a 55.[[In-content Ad]]