Jay Co. sixth at invite

FARMLAND — Hickory Hills got the best of the Jay County and South Adams girls golf teams on Saturday.
Gusty winds didn’t help either.
Jay County shot a 424 to finish in sixth place out of 14 teams in the Monroe Central Invitational. South Adams was fourth with 391.
Pendleton Heights and Guerin Catholic left the rest of the field behind, placing one-two with 346 and 348 respectively. Muncie Central was third with 385.
“Any time there is wind at Hickory Hills it makes the course tougher,” said JCHS coach Butch Gray, whose team placed fifth in each of its two previous tournaments this season. “(The wind) affects the ball -quite a bit.”
Gray also noted the firmness of the course and how it affected nearly every shot.
“It wasn’t easy playing (Saturday) by any stretch.”
Sydney Mathias, Jay County’s No. 1 golfer, found out first-hand how hard the course was.
The Patriot sophomore fought her way through a couple double bogeys and a triple bogey on the front nine, making the turn at the clubhouse with a 46.
On the 157-yard, par-3 second hole, her tee shot rolled up into a sand trap in front of the green. From the sand, her shot rolled past the green, and her subsequent chip didn’t settle like she wanted it to, passing by the pin and rolling onto the fringe. She left a putt about 10 feet short, and then needed two more putts for a triple bogey.
Mathias’ tee shot on the 278-yard, par-4 ninth rolled off the right side of the fairway about 80 yards from the green. Her approach sailed long, about 10 yards past the green and 30 yards from the hole. Her chip shot stopped above the hole, and her putt from about 50 feet didn’t break like she anticipated and stopped 5 feet from the hole.
Mathias made the bogey putt before taking a short break and heading to the back nine.
“Those greens … you need to land a little short and let them bounce up or run up,” Gray said. “You’ve got to hit it almost perfect.”
Brooke Sanders, Jay County’s No. 3 golfer, watched as the wind carried her tee shot on the par-4 fifth to the left of the fairway, coming to a rest under the root of a tree and forcing her to take a one-stroke penalty for an unplayable lie.
Two strokes later, the junior had her chip shot hit the front of the green, roll past the pin and into the rough. She ended up on an eight on the hole.
Mathias finished with a 103, one stroke ahead of Sanders. Carlie Wickey (106) and Rachel Antrim (111) rounded out Jay County’s team score. Maddison Baughn also competed for the Patriots, shooting a 119.
Pendleton Heights senior Emily Tilton was the match medalist with a 4-under 68.
Despite the high scores for the three 18-hole tournaments — Mathias shot a 99 and 93 earlier in the season for Jay County’s only sub-100 scores — Gray is hopeful the girls will improve throughout the course of the season.
“We just need consistency out of all of them,” Gray said. “As I look who was in it, if we get consistent enough we could do some good things as the season goes on. I think there is potential there, they just have to put the time in.”
South Adams’ Sydney Willis, who was the match medalist last season with a 70, struggled to an 83 this time around.
Willis, a 2013 state qualifier, started the invitational with a double bogey on the par-4 fourth and was 5-over par when she made the turn. The junior recovered, however, shooting a 1-over 37 on the back nine until she finished her round with a triple bogey on the par-5 first and back-to-back bogeys on the second and third holes.
Jaci Gorrell (94), Kelli Lehman (106) and Alleigh Wingler (108) also contributed to the Starfires’ team score.
Jay County opens its inaugural season in the Allen County Athletic Conference with a three-way match Tuesday at Cedar Creek Golf Club against Adams Central and host Leo.