July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Beast bests Valley (06/01/05)
JCHS boys golf
Beast bests Valley (06/01/05)
By By RAY COONEY-
MIDDLETOWN — With the Jay County boys golf team the numbers before the names don’t really matter. That’s because all five of the team’s starters are capable of finishing with great numbers after their name.
The Patriots proved that once again Tuesday as No. 5 player Nathan McClung shot an even-par 36 at Valley View Golf Course. His score, the best on the team by five strokes, led Jay County to a 164 as it closed the season with victories over the host Daleville Broncos (176) and the Muncie Southside Rebels (184).
McClung — known to his teammates and friends as “Beast” — shared match medalist honors with Justin Owens of Daleville, and Southside’s Joey O’Connor was the only other player in the 30s as he finished at 39. Alex Hunt and Adam Foster each shot 41 for the Patriots, and Ben Freeman added a 46.
No. 1 player Tyler Johnston had a rough day with a 49, making McClung’s round even more important. He scored 21 strokes better than the other No. 5 players as Southside’s Ethan Stump and Daleville’s Cole Pittsford each finished at 57.
“I’m just relaxed and I’m swinging the clubs pretty well so I have a lot of confidence,” said McClung, who shared match medalist honors with Johnston last week and finished just one stroke behind the champion at the Olympic Athletic Conference meet. “I can hit a lot riskier shots because I have a lot of confidence.
“About a week before conference I started hitting the ball a lot better. And my putting has improved dramatically.”
While most of the Patriot team struggled on the first hole — there was a triple bogey and a quadruple bogey — McClung got off to an excellent start. He birdied the 310-yard, par-4 opening hole, one of just three birdies for Jay County on the day, to start his great round.
After a par on the second hole he had his lone bogey on the 178-yard, par-3 third hole. After that it was all pars.
McClung hit a great drive on the 170-yard, par-3 fifth hole as he was one of the few players who didn’t fly the ball over the green. Instead, he left his first shot comfortably the right side of the green and two-putted for a par.
He hit another good drive on the 305-yard, par-4 sixth, leaving it just five feet short of a pond which protects the front of the green. He chipped onto the green and again used two putts for a par.
McClung closed his round with another two-putt, just missing a birdie try from the front fringe and tapping in for par on the 590-yard, par-5 ninth.
“I had spurts all year, but I’m just a lot more consistent now,” said McClung of his recent run of success. “My putting is consistently solid, so that helps a lot.”
“He’s relaxed,” added JCHS coach Butch Gray. “It kind of happened when he moved to No. 5. He felt when he was up at three or four, ‘I’ve got to shoot a number.’ It doesn’t matter where the guys are in numbers, if they just play their game — play one shot at a time, one hole at a time — they’ll be fine.
“You’ve got to be relaxed to play this game. You can’t get mad ... you’ve just got to play.”
The Patriots as a whole found their groove on the final four holes at Valley View. After notching just seven pars and a birdie on the first five — half of which came from McClung — they racked up 13 pars and two birdies on holes six through nine. They combined the play the par-5 finale at 2-under-par.
Foster had one of those birdies on No. 9 after he knocked his second shot into the rough well left of the green. His chip was near perfect as he barely missed an eagle with the ball rolling an inch or so to the right of the cup, leaving him just a tap-in for birdie.
Foster also had four pars in his round, and Hunt played five holes even. Freeman was nine-over through the first five holes, but finished with pars on three of the final four.
The pair of victories capped a second-straight 13-win season for Jay County. It is 26-1 over the last two season, with the lone loss coming in the second match this season to Delta.
It heads to sectional play Friday at LaFontaine Golf Club in Huntington.
“Our goal is to get out,” said Gray of the Patriots, who finished in the top three to advance to regional action in 2003 but fell short last year. “We’ve got to have four guys put in solid rounds. We’ve got to get away from the pressure we’ve put on ourselves.”
“We don’t even have to shoot anything incredible, we just have to play solid,” added McClung. “We’ll win if we shoot what we’re capable of. We just have to play solid.”[[In-content Ad]]
The Patriots proved that once again Tuesday as No. 5 player Nathan McClung shot an even-par 36 at Valley View Golf Course. His score, the best on the team by five strokes, led Jay County to a 164 as it closed the season with victories over the host Daleville Broncos (176) and the Muncie Southside Rebels (184).
McClung — known to his teammates and friends as “Beast” — shared match medalist honors with Justin Owens of Daleville, and Southside’s Joey O’Connor was the only other player in the 30s as he finished at 39. Alex Hunt and Adam Foster each shot 41 for the Patriots, and Ben Freeman added a 46.
No. 1 player Tyler Johnston had a rough day with a 49, making McClung’s round even more important. He scored 21 strokes better than the other No. 5 players as Southside’s Ethan Stump and Daleville’s Cole Pittsford each finished at 57.
“I’m just relaxed and I’m swinging the clubs pretty well so I have a lot of confidence,” said McClung, who shared match medalist honors with Johnston last week and finished just one stroke behind the champion at the Olympic Athletic Conference meet. “I can hit a lot riskier shots because I have a lot of confidence.
“About a week before conference I started hitting the ball a lot better. And my putting has improved dramatically.”
While most of the Patriot team struggled on the first hole — there was a triple bogey and a quadruple bogey — McClung got off to an excellent start. He birdied the 310-yard, par-4 opening hole, one of just three birdies for Jay County on the day, to start his great round.
After a par on the second hole he had his lone bogey on the 178-yard, par-3 third hole. After that it was all pars.
McClung hit a great drive on the 170-yard, par-3 fifth hole as he was one of the few players who didn’t fly the ball over the green. Instead, he left his first shot comfortably the right side of the green and two-putted for a par.
He hit another good drive on the 305-yard, par-4 sixth, leaving it just five feet short of a pond which protects the front of the green. He chipped onto the green and again used two putts for a par.
McClung closed his round with another two-putt, just missing a birdie try from the front fringe and tapping in for par on the 590-yard, par-5 ninth.
“I had spurts all year, but I’m just a lot more consistent now,” said McClung of his recent run of success. “My putting is consistently solid, so that helps a lot.”
“He’s relaxed,” added JCHS coach Butch Gray. “It kind of happened when he moved to No. 5. He felt when he was up at three or four, ‘I’ve got to shoot a number.’ It doesn’t matter where the guys are in numbers, if they just play their game — play one shot at a time, one hole at a time — they’ll be fine.
“You’ve got to be relaxed to play this game. You can’t get mad ... you’ve just got to play.”
The Patriots as a whole found their groove on the final four holes at Valley View. After notching just seven pars and a birdie on the first five — half of which came from McClung — they racked up 13 pars and two birdies on holes six through nine. They combined the play the par-5 finale at 2-under-par.
Foster had one of those birdies on No. 9 after he knocked his second shot into the rough well left of the green. His chip was near perfect as he barely missed an eagle with the ball rolling an inch or so to the right of the cup, leaving him just a tap-in for birdie.
Foster also had four pars in his round, and Hunt played five holes even. Freeman was nine-over through the first five holes, but finished with pars on three of the final four.
The pair of victories capped a second-straight 13-win season for Jay County. It is 26-1 over the last two season, with the lone loss coming in the second match this season to Delta.
It heads to sectional play Friday at LaFontaine Golf Club in Huntington.
“Our goal is to get out,” said Gray of the Patriots, who finished in the top three to advance to regional action in 2003 but fell short last year. “We’ve got to have four guys put in solid rounds. We’ve got to get away from the pressure we’ve put on ourselves.”
“We don’t even have to shoot anything incredible, we just have to play solid,” added McClung. “We’ll win if we shoot what we’re capable of. We just have to play solid.”[[In-content Ad]]
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