April 24, 2015 at 5:32 p.m.
Houck shoots 39 in loss
JCHS sophomore earns medalist honors by one stroke
Houck shoots 39 in loss
On a cold, windy day, the Jay County High School golf team had a difficult time handling the elements on Thursday.
The high winds and low temperatures, however, didn’t faze Jay Houck.
The JCHS sophomore shot a season-best 39 to earn match medalist honors in the Patriots’ 175-182 loss to the Bluffton Tigers at Portland Golf Club.
“He had a good score,” JCHS coach Butch Gray said. Houck was 2-over through seven, but bogeyed his final two holes to finish at 4-over. “In practice he’s been in the 30s a couple times. That’s Jay.”
Jay County (1-4, 1-3 Allen County Athletic Conference) had a narrow one-shot lead with four of the five scores reporting. The Patriots were sitting with a team score of 186, and No. 5 golfer Collin Haines turned in his score of 48 to knock it down four strokes.
Jonas Smith, Bluffton’s No. 5, finished with a 44, knocking off Eli Kitt’s 56 for a team score of 175 to edge the Patriots.
The four lowest scores count toward the team total.
“At least we were competitive with them,” said Gray, whose team lost to the Tigers by 25 strokes on Tuesday at Timber Ridge in Bluffton. “It’s nice to be on your home course. It might have given us some advantage.”
Houck was even on four of his first five holes, including shooting back-to-back pars on 10 and 11 and again on 13 and 14.
His tee shot on the 381-yard, par-4 11th was just left of the fairway, and his second shot from about 120 yards out was 10 feet shy of the green. He chipped on with the ball stopping 8 feet from the cup. He finished with five pars and four bogeys.
Perhaps the most impressive hole for the Patriots’ top golfer was the 380-yard, par-4 16th. His tee shot landed on the downslope of the creek bed nearly 150 yards out. With no other obstacles in his way and his left foot close to the water, he punched it out of trouble and onto the green about 12 feet from the cup. His birdie putt missed to the left and was a foot long, and he tapped in to save par.
The high winds and low temperatures, however, didn’t faze Jay Houck.
The JCHS sophomore shot a season-best 39 to earn match medalist honors in the Patriots’ 175-182 loss to the Bluffton Tigers at Portland Golf Club.
“He had a good score,” JCHS coach Butch Gray said. Houck was 2-over through seven, but bogeyed his final two holes to finish at 4-over. “In practice he’s been in the 30s a couple times. That’s Jay.”
Jay County (1-4, 1-3 Allen County Athletic Conference) had a narrow one-shot lead with four of the five scores reporting. The Patriots were sitting with a team score of 186, and No. 5 golfer Collin Haines turned in his score of 48 to knock it down four strokes.
Jonas Smith, Bluffton’s No. 5, finished with a 44, knocking off Eli Kitt’s 56 for a team score of 175 to edge the Patriots.
The four lowest scores count toward the team total.
“At least we were competitive with them,” said Gray, whose team lost to the Tigers by 25 strokes on Tuesday at Timber Ridge in Bluffton. “It’s nice to be on your home course. It might have given us some advantage.”
Houck was even on four of his first five holes, including shooting back-to-back pars on 10 and 11 and again on 13 and 14.
His tee shot on the 381-yard, par-4 11th was just left of the fairway, and his second shot from about 120 yards out was 10 feet shy of the green. He chipped on with the ball stopping 8 feet from the cup. He finished with five pars and four bogeys.
Perhaps the most impressive hole for the Patriots’ top golfer was the 380-yard, par-4 16th. His tee shot landed on the downslope of the creek bed nearly 150 yards out. With no other obstacles in his way and his left foot close to the water, he punched it out of trouble and onto the green about 12 feet from the cup. His birdie putt missed to the left and was a foot long, and he tapped in to save par.
Jay County junior Graham Haines struggled to a 46, with seemingly every putt lipping out or coming up short. On 11, Haines’ bogey putt missed by 6 inches. His par putt on 12 just missed to the left by a foot, and his uphill par putt on 13 did the same. On 16 from 25 yards away, his chip shot was short of the pin by 2 inches to miss birdie.
Gray said Haines’ mistakes on the greens are something he can fix, noting that he and Houck had to get through their round quickly to attend a National Honor Society meeting.
Graham Haines’ freshman brother Collin made the only birdie for the Patriots, doing so on the 363-yard, par-4 10th.
Bluffton’s Ethan Kitt, Houck’s playing partner who led the Tigers with a 40, made the only birdie for the visitors on the par-5 14th.
Houck led Kitt by two strokes after the first hole, and had a three-stroke lead after four. Kitt cut the deficit to two strokes after the 14th, until Houck’s par on 16 gave him back a three-stroke advantage. Kitt made par on the final two holes but could not match Houck’s 39.
Kyler Hudson’s 49 rounded out Jay County’s team score. Nick Hayden shot a 52 from the Patriots’ No. 4 spot
“The ball wasn’t carrying,” Gray said. “I saw a lot of short shots. I thought they were more relaxed to play tonight than we were the other night. I thought we got too uptight.”
Jay County competes in the Starfire Invitational on Saturday at Golf Club of the Limberlost in Geneva, and Gray is hoping the tournament will help get his team prepared for the postseason.
“We just have to keep improving,” he said. “Let’s get to a point at the end of the year where we can be competitive in the sectional and in the conference.”
Gray said Haines’ mistakes on the greens are something he can fix, noting that he and Houck had to get through their round quickly to attend a National Honor Society meeting.
Graham Haines’ freshman brother Collin made the only birdie for the Patriots, doing so on the 363-yard, par-4 10th.
Bluffton’s Ethan Kitt, Houck’s playing partner who led the Tigers with a 40, made the only birdie for the visitors on the par-5 14th.
Houck led Kitt by two strokes after the first hole, and had a three-stroke lead after four. Kitt cut the deficit to two strokes after the 14th, until Houck’s par on 16 gave him back a three-stroke advantage. Kitt made par on the final two holes but could not match Houck’s 39.
Kyler Hudson’s 49 rounded out Jay County’s team score. Nick Hayden shot a 52 from the Patriots’ No. 4 spot
“The ball wasn’t carrying,” Gray said. “I saw a lot of short shots. I thought they were more relaxed to play tonight than we were the other night. I thought we got too uptight.”
Jay County competes in the Starfire Invitational on Saturday at Golf Club of the Limberlost in Geneva, and Gray is hoping the tournament will help get his team prepared for the postseason.
“We just have to keep improving,” he said. “Let’s get to a point at the end of the year where we can be competitive in the sectional and in the conference.”
Top Stories
9/11 NEVER FORGET Mobile Exhibit
Chartwells marketing
September 17, 2024 7:36 a.m.
Events
August
To Submit an Event Sign in first
Today's Events
No calendar events have been scheduled for today.
250 X 250 AD