April 22, 2017 at 9:25 p.m.
Jay golf wins SA Invitational
Haines finishes second as Patriots get three in top 10
Jay golf wins SA Invitational
Copyright 2017, The Commercial Review
All Rights Reserved.
GENEVA — Collin Haines crouched near the bottom the ninth green, on his final hole of the day.
He lined up his putt, eyeing the uphill slope with a left-to-right break.
Just 20 feet separated him from a birdie and potentially forcing a playoff for the tournament championship.
Haines, a junior, put his ball back on the green, took one last look at his upcoming shot and approached the ball. As he let his putt go, he had a good read on the green as his ball traveled toward the hole.
Slightly more power and he may have gotten that playoff.
Haines left his birdie putt less than a foot short, settling for par and a career-best 77 in leading the Jay County High School boys golf team to the South Adams Invitational championship on Saturday at Golf Club of the Limberlost.
“Honestly, not very happy,” said Haines, whose 6-over par was seven strokes better than his previous career best of 84 he set April 18, 2016, at Hickory Hills Golf Club. “There is a lot of strokes out there I could have gotten back. But I mean second place is not bad. I would have wanted first but I’m happy with second place.
“First place as a team is what’s most important and hopefully we can do better next week.”
Jay County had three golfers in the top 10 as it scored a season-low 338, 20 strokes better than two weeks ago at the Yorktown Invitational. Bluffton was second with 340, and Norwell placed third with 351. South Adams’ score was not available.
“First time we’ve ever won here,” said JCHS coach Butch Gray. “Pleasant surprise. Collin really came through today.”
Playing as the Patriots’ No. 1 golfer, Haines began with a double bogey on the par-4 10th hole. He sandwiched a birdie on the par-3 12th between par performances on 11 and 13. He bogeyed the par-4 14th before making the turn with par on four straight holes and a score of 2-over 37.
Haines was 6-over par with three holes remaining, and made par on the seventh and eighth holes as he approached the ninth green.
Jacob Collins of Norwell had honors, and his tee shot landed about on the green eight feet to the right of the pin. Haines followed, and his shot from the box landed at the bottom of the green roughly 5 feet from the fringe.
Haines stood 20 feet from needing a playoff to determine the individual champion, but he left his putt a little too short. Collins converted birdie to claim the title with a 76.
“I was just trying to fight with him, not really thinking about the score,” said Haines, adding he knew very well where he stood in terms of his score compared to Collins’. I knew how much over par I was, but I was just trying to battle with him the whole time and come out with a victory.
“But he beat me by one stroke.”
Senior Kyler Hudson, the Patriots’ No. 5 golfer, was fifth overall with an 83. He made par on three of his first four holes and was 6-over par at the turn. Hudson then had back-to-back bogeys before consecutive pars, and converted par on his last two holes.
Golfing from the No. 3 spot, senior Nick Hayden was 10th overall with an 87. He finished his round with one birdie — on the par-5 11th — and made par seven times. Classmate Jay Houck shot a 91 to complete the Patriots’ team score.
Despite higher scores than normal from Hayden and Houck, Gray said he was pleased with how his team performed in the chilly, windy conditions.
“I felt it was pretty good competition,” he said. “It is a nice win.
“We’re starting to show progress. If we keep that up … the goal for the end of the year at conference and at sectional is to shoot our best scores.”
The Patriots got a good look at conference opponents Adams Central, Southern Wells, Bluffton and South Adams. As the tournament — which is slated for May 20 — moves to Celina Lynx, Gray is hopeful the change of venue removes any competitive advantage since no ACAC squad plays its home matches there.
“It’s going to be a neutral course that nobody knows,” said Gray, whose team lost to Bluffton by three strokes last year.
Although the individual title eluded him by one stroke, Haines said he was happy with the way his team performed and is looking forward to the rest of the season.
“They did good,” he said. “I am proud of the guys, proud of the whole team. Every single stroke counts. We narrowly won, so every shot they took is a big one.”
Matt Franks also competed for the Patriots, though he did not factor into the team score. He made par three times on his way to a 122.
All Rights Reserved.
GENEVA — Collin Haines crouched near the bottom the ninth green, on his final hole of the day.
He lined up his putt, eyeing the uphill slope with a left-to-right break.
Just 20 feet separated him from a birdie and potentially forcing a playoff for the tournament championship.
Haines, a junior, put his ball back on the green, took one last look at his upcoming shot and approached the ball. As he let his putt go, he had a good read on the green as his ball traveled toward the hole.
Slightly more power and he may have gotten that playoff.
Haines left his birdie putt less than a foot short, settling for par and a career-best 77 in leading the Jay County High School boys golf team to the South Adams Invitational championship on Saturday at Golf Club of the Limberlost.
“Honestly, not very happy,” said Haines, whose 6-over par was seven strokes better than his previous career best of 84 he set April 18, 2016, at Hickory Hills Golf Club. “There is a lot of strokes out there I could have gotten back. But I mean second place is not bad. I would have wanted first but I’m happy with second place.
“First place as a team is what’s most important and hopefully we can do better next week.”
Jay County had three golfers in the top 10 as it scored a season-low 338, 20 strokes better than two weeks ago at the Yorktown Invitational. Bluffton was second with 340, and Norwell placed third with 351. South Adams’ score was not available.
“First time we’ve ever won here,” said JCHS coach Butch Gray. “Pleasant surprise. Collin really came through today.”
Playing as the Patriots’ No. 1 golfer, Haines began with a double bogey on the par-4 10th hole. He sandwiched a birdie on the par-3 12th between par performances on 11 and 13. He bogeyed the par-4 14th before making the turn with par on four straight holes and a score of 2-over 37.
Haines was 6-over par with three holes remaining, and made par on the seventh and eighth holes as he approached the ninth green.
Jacob Collins of Norwell had honors, and his tee shot landed about on the green eight feet to the right of the pin. Haines followed, and his shot from the box landed at the bottom of the green roughly 5 feet from the fringe.
Haines stood 20 feet from needing a playoff to determine the individual champion, but he left his putt a little too short. Collins converted birdie to claim the title with a 76.
“I was just trying to fight with him, not really thinking about the score,” said Haines, adding he knew very well where he stood in terms of his score compared to Collins’. I knew how much over par I was, but I was just trying to battle with him the whole time and come out with a victory.
“But he beat me by one stroke.”
Senior Kyler Hudson, the Patriots’ No. 5 golfer, was fifth overall with an 83. He made par on three of his first four holes and was 6-over par at the turn. Hudson then had back-to-back bogeys before consecutive pars, and converted par on his last two holes.
Golfing from the No. 3 spot, senior Nick Hayden was 10th overall with an 87. He finished his round with one birdie — on the par-5 11th — and made par seven times. Classmate Jay Houck shot a 91 to complete the Patriots’ team score.
Despite higher scores than normal from Hayden and Houck, Gray said he was pleased with how his team performed in the chilly, windy conditions.
“I felt it was pretty good competition,” he said. “It is a nice win.
“We’re starting to show progress. If we keep that up … the goal for the end of the year at conference and at sectional is to shoot our best scores.”
The Patriots got a good look at conference opponents Adams Central, Southern Wells, Bluffton and South Adams. As the tournament — which is slated for May 20 — moves to Celina Lynx, Gray is hopeful the change of venue removes any competitive advantage since no ACAC squad plays its home matches there.
“It’s going to be a neutral course that nobody knows,” said Gray, whose team lost to Bluffton by three strokes last year.
Although the individual title eluded him by one stroke, Haines said he was happy with the way his team performed and is looking forward to the rest of the season.
“They did good,” he said. “I am proud of the guys, proud of the whole team. Every single stroke counts. We narrowly won, so every shot they took is a big one.”
Matt Franks also competed for the Patriots, though he did not factor into the team score. He made par three times on his way to a 122.
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