July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Johnston leads Jay County win (04/16/04)
JCHS golf
Johnston leads Jay County win (04/16/04)
PORTLAND — Tyler Johnston didn’t hit many lemons Thursday. And, even when he did, he didn’t have much trouble turning them into a lemonade.
Johnston squeezed out excellent shot after excellent shot, dropping a 34 to lead the Jay County golf team to a 158-168 victory over the Wapahani Raiders at Portland Country Club.
It was the best score of Johnston’s varsity career in a nine-hole match. He far outdistanced 2003 state qualifier Todd Clark of Wapahani, who shot a 43.
“I hit the ball OK,” said Johnston. “My short game controlled how I played.”
Nathan McClung was second for the Patriots with a 39. Jesse Shawver shot a 42, Adam Foster finished with a 43 and Ben Freeman hit for a 47.
The Raiders’ No. 2 player, Austin Simmons, came through with a big round as he shot an even-par 35. Kyle Wilson wasn’t far behind with a 37.
Tyler Parks rounded out the Wapahani team score with a 53, and Doug Cook had a 63.
“We all played so much over the summer,” said McClung of the team’s improvement. “That was a big thing. We should be able to shoot well. We probably played more than any other team in the state.”
“That’s a better nine-hole round than we shot all last year,” said Jay County coach Butch Gray of the team score. “I’m happy with this, but they’re not happy with the way they played.”
Each of the Patriot players — all of whom other than Johnston had at least two bogeys — saw some things they could have done better. But Johnston had a knack for getting out of the few trouble spots he found himself in.
The most impressive of those came on the par-3, 178-yard 18th hole.
The junior’s drive bounded off the left side of the hill-top green and down toward the creek, leaving a difficult — and blind — chip shot to be played. It wasn’t a problem.
Johnston chipped to within three feet and easily rolled in the par putt to complete his 1-under round.
The only other shot of the match he was visibly upset about was his drive on the previous hole, the 344-yard, par-4 17th. His first shot went well right, ending up just to the right of the pond and leaving the pond, creek and some trees in play for his approach.
Again, Johnston easily got by the obstacles, landing his second shot on the green. He left his long birdie putt just short, but followed by converting the fifth of his six pars.
“My chipping hasn’t been very good lately,” said Johnston, noting the turnaround Thursday. “I just felt comfortable over just about every shot I had. I was knocking them close. You can’t ask for much else.”
“He just played smart,” said Gray. “He played tonight like he’s been playing in practice.”
Johnston scored the first of his two birdies on the 12th hole. He was the only Jay County golfer to have much success on the 498-yard, par-5 as everyone else shot bogey or worse.
But, the Patriots’ No. 1 player brought his tee shot back from the far right rough, leaving his second just short of the green. His chip was the perfect distance, leaving him pin-high about three feet to the right of the hole, and he rolled in for the first of his two birdies.
He went on to birdie the 520-yard, par-5 14th hole after reaching the green in two shots.
“It got started on 12 when I hit my 3-wood on my second shot,” said Johnston. “Everything started coming together from there.”
McClung had his worst effort on the 12th hole, taking a triple-bogey eight. But, everything else was solid.
Playing from the No. 4 spot, he had just one other bogey to go along with seven pars for his 39.
“I hit the ball really solid,” said McClung. “My short game was good, and I had a lot of confidence. I hit a lot of putts and that helped build my confidence up.
“I played pretty consistent other than that (12th) hole.”
Shawver finished with five pars to finish third on the team.
Foster had just two pars, but was fairly consistent throughout his round. He bogeyed holes 10 through 12 and 16 and 17 before taking his only double bogey after a shaky shot out of the bunker on 18.
Jay County will look to continue its great start when it plays at the Bellmont Invitational Saturday at 9 a.m.
Junior varsity
Jay County’s junior varsity team eked out a victory over Wapahani as well, 191-193.
Alex Hunt paced the Patriot effort with a 42. Josh Thornburg was second on the squad with a 46.
They were followed by James Brosher at 50, and Gray Suman and Bill Spahr, who had matching 53s.[[In-content Ad]]
Johnston squeezed out excellent shot after excellent shot, dropping a 34 to lead the Jay County golf team to a 158-168 victory over the Wapahani Raiders at Portland Country Club.
It was the best score of Johnston’s varsity career in a nine-hole match. He far outdistanced 2003 state qualifier Todd Clark of Wapahani, who shot a 43.
“I hit the ball OK,” said Johnston. “My short game controlled how I played.”
Nathan McClung was second for the Patriots with a 39. Jesse Shawver shot a 42, Adam Foster finished with a 43 and Ben Freeman hit for a 47.
The Raiders’ No. 2 player, Austin Simmons, came through with a big round as he shot an even-par 35. Kyle Wilson wasn’t far behind with a 37.
Tyler Parks rounded out the Wapahani team score with a 53, and Doug Cook had a 63.
“We all played so much over the summer,” said McClung of the team’s improvement. “That was a big thing. We should be able to shoot well. We probably played more than any other team in the state.”
“That’s a better nine-hole round than we shot all last year,” said Jay County coach Butch Gray of the team score. “I’m happy with this, but they’re not happy with the way they played.”
Each of the Patriot players — all of whom other than Johnston had at least two bogeys — saw some things they could have done better. But Johnston had a knack for getting out of the few trouble spots he found himself in.
The most impressive of those came on the par-3, 178-yard 18th hole.
The junior’s drive bounded off the left side of the hill-top green and down toward the creek, leaving a difficult — and blind — chip shot to be played. It wasn’t a problem.
Johnston chipped to within three feet and easily rolled in the par putt to complete his 1-under round.
The only other shot of the match he was visibly upset about was his drive on the previous hole, the 344-yard, par-4 17th. His first shot went well right, ending up just to the right of the pond and leaving the pond, creek and some trees in play for his approach.
Again, Johnston easily got by the obstacles, landing his second shot on the green. He left his long birdie putt just short, but followed by converting the fifth of his six pars.
“My chipping hasn’t been very good lately,” said Johnston, noting the turnaround Thursday. “I just felt comfortable over just about every shot I had. I was knocking them close. You can’t ask for much else.”
“He just played smart,” said Gray. “He played tonight like he’s been playing in practice.”
Johnston scored the first of his two birdies on the 12th hole. He was the only Jay County golfer to have much success on the 498-yard, par-5 as everyone else shot bogey or worse.
But, the Patriots’ No. 1 player brought his tee shot back from the far right rough, leaving his second just short of the green. His chip was the perfect distance, leaving him pin-high about three feet to the right of the hole, and he rolled in for the first of his two birdies.
He went on to birdie the 520-yard, par-5 14th hole after reaching the green in two shots.
“It got started on 12 when I hit my 3-wood on my second shot,” said Johnston. “Everything started coming together from there.”
McClung had his worst effort on the 12th hole, taking a triple-bogey eight. But, everything else was solid.
Playing from the No. 4 spot, he had just one other bogey to go along with seven pars for his 39.
“I hit the ball really solid,” said McClung. “My short game was good, and I had a lot of confidence. I hit a lot of putts and that helped build my confidence up.
“I played pretty consistent other than that (12th) hole.”
Shawver finished with five pars to finish third on the team.
Foster had just two pars, but was fairly consistent throughout his round. He bogeyed holes 10 through 12 and 16 and 17 before taking his only double bogey after a shaky shot out of the bunker on 18.
Jay County will look to continue its great start when it plays at the Bellmont Invitational Saturday at 9 a.m.
Junior varsity
Jay County’s junior varsity team eked out a victory over Wapahani as well, 191-193.
Alex Hunt paced the Patriot effort with a 42. Josh Thornburg was second on the squad with a 46.
They were followed by James Brosher at 50, and Gray Suman and Bill Spahr, who had matching 53s.[[In-content Ad]]
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