Patriot golfers lose opener

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The Patriots had been itching to get on the course and play competitive golf.

When they finally got the chance Thursday, high winds didn’t offer much help.

The Jay County High School boys golf team was finally able to open its 2018 season Thursday, and it fell to the Wapahani Raiders 183-215 at Portland Golf Club.

“Feels good,” said JCHS senior Collin Haines, the lone Patriot who entered with varsity experience. “I’m excited for the season to start. I’m excited to get after it and continue to get better.”

But Jay County (0-1), who had four making their varsity debut, had to fight high winds from the start. The golfers were forced to drive into strong gusts of wind on the first three holes, and didn’t have the wind at their backs until the fourth and sixth hole.

Haines, who earned match medalist honors with a 40, bogeyed his first three holes before rebounding with par on the fourth and fifth holes.

He nearly birdied the par-4 fourth hole, but his 35-foot birdie putt stopped just short of the cup.

“I just picked out a spot on the middle part of the green where I thought it would start turning down and gave it a good roll,” the IU-South Bend signee said. “Happened to be almost perfect. I’ll take a two-putt from there any day.”

He closed his round with two bogeys and a par.

“It’s hard to be pleased with a 40 when I just have higher expectations with myself,” he said. “I hit the ball well all day so that’s a good thing to take away from it. I just had a couple bad shots and a couple missed putts.

“I’m not pleased with the score but I played better than I scored.”

Devin Harris, a sophomore who played from the No. 3 spot, was second on the team with a 56, edging freshman Griffin Mann by one stroke. Junior Joey Hall completed the Patriots’ team score with a 64.

“Happy with Collin’s play,” JCHS coach Butch Gray said. “Overall with these kids being their first varsity match (they were) very, very nervous. I could tell that. That’s why sometimes I just kind of stay away from them so they aren’t feeling it anymore.”

As they continue to gain experience, those nerves will subside. But playing in conditions with high winds — a staple of the area’s spring climate — knowing what to do simply comes from getting more time out on the course.

“You just have to play in it,” Gray said.

Even Haines had problems with the wind. His tee shot on the first hole left him in the middle of trees and he had to punch it out.

He was the only one in his group — Nick Jackson and Caleb Wright of Wapahani and Mann — to stay out of the water hazard on the second hole.

But on No. 3, Haines hooked his second shot with a hybrid into the wind and it carried on to the green (he three-putted for bogey).

“I have to put the ball in the back of my stance and do everything I can to just punch it,” he said. “It’s kind of like a guessing game. It’s hard to be precise with 30 mile-per-hour winds.

“Off the tee I tried to hit it as low as I can. I did that on the first hole and it backfired so I just winged it.”