Jay County places fourth in OAC (05/18/04)

PORTLAND — Tyler Johnston led off the day with a birdie. The rest of it did not go as well as the Patriots would have liked.

The Jay County golf team had a pair of All-Olympic Athletic Conference players, but still finished fourth with a score of 328 at Monday’s OAC meet hosted by Huntington North at LaFontaine Golf Club.

Johnston finished fifth at the tournament with a 76, and Adam Foster won a playoff to earn the final All-OAC slot with an 80.

The host Vikings ran away with the title with a 312, thanks in part to second-place finisher Brandon Pike’s 72. Match medalist Jeff Bertch (71) led Connersville to second at 322, Anderson Highland placed third with a 325 and Muncie Southside was a distant fifth with 359.

“We could’ve been right there in second place,” said Jay County coach Butch Gray. “It came down to course management — just playing the safe shot instead of trying to play the career shot.

“Looking at the overall score we were only eight shots back of where we were at sectional last year (where the Patriots placed second). The thing that hurt us the most were penalty strokes. They got to the point where they thought they had to make some special plays and shots and then they got into a little further trouble.”

Johnston was hardly ever in trouble.

His first drive went just into the right rough, and he hit his second shot on the 377-yard, par-4 first hole to within about two feet of the cup. He rolled in his birdie and parred each of the next two holes.

He had five pars on the front nine before notching a birdie on the 481-yard, par-5 ninth to make the turn at even par. He added six pars on the back nine before taking his lone double-bogey on 18 to finish with a 76.

“That’s kind of been Tyler,” said Gray of his No. 1 player, who finished one stroke short of earning all-conference honors last season. “He has been very capable for a number of years.

“I remember when he was a freshman we kind of started him out slow and didn’t put him at (number) one, but he’s the kid who wants to put the weight on his back and give us that good score. He’s played a lot of tournament golf and there’s no doubt that helps him.”

Foster had a bit of an up-and-down day as he scored four pars in his first six holes. He then double-bogeyed the seventh and eighth before scoring his first birdie on No. 9 to finish the front nine at 42.

He had a streak of good holes after bogeying No. 10 to start the back nine. He parred No. 11 and then hit an excellent drive down the middle of the 478-yard, par-5 12th.

His second shot fell just short of the green, and he chipped to within six feet. With Jay County golfers looking for a break all day, Foster finally got one as he just barely coaxed his putt into the hole for a birdie.

The junior followed with three more pars in a row, and parred the 398-yard, par-4 18th hole to forge a tie with Josh Fortney of Huntington North with an 80.

He took the final all-conference slot on the 18th-hole playoff, dropping his second shot to within 15 feet and two-putting for the par.

“It was nice to see him come back,” said Gray. “It showed some poise.

“I think when he hit his seven iron (on the second shot) and put it on the green about pin high that put a lot of pressure on (Fortney).”

The other Patriot players had their moments of difficulty.

Jesse Shawver hit his opening drive into the woods and took a triple bogey, and later picked up another penalty stroke after trying to punch through some trees on the sixth hole. He also had five pars and a birdie, and finished with an 84.

Alex Hunt looked good early, notching a birdie on the second hole followed by three pars, but blew up on No. 6. He took a nine on the hole, and followed with a double bogey and back-to-back bogeys to finish the front nine. He shot a pair of 44s for his 88 total.

Nathan McClung had five pars in his round, but also notched a trio of triple bogeys and took a nine on No. 9. That hole involved a shot in the water and three tries from the bunker as he finished with a 98.

Gray said he hopes his team will use the day as a learning experience, as it will return to Lafontaine in a few weeks for the sectional tournament.

“They’ve got to take and build on that,” he said. “One thing that woke them up was what Huntington shot. We thought it was Norwell, Marion and us (competing for the sectional title). Now you throw Huntington North into the mix.”

Marion won the 2003 title by one stroke over Jay County and Norwell. Huntington North was a distant fifth behind Mississinewa, but has now entered the hunt as just three teams will advance from sectional to regional competition.

The Patriots have four more regular-season matches, beginning at Muncie Burris today at 4:30 p.m., before the sectional tournament.[[In-content Ad]]