Rough opener

DECATUR — With little varsity experience, expectations weren’t high going into the season opener.

The hope is the team will continue to improve from here on out.

Jay County High School’s girls golf team opened the 2021 campaign by placing sixth in the Bellmont Invitational on Tuesday at Cross Creek Golf Club.

“I knew it was going to be a long day,” said JCHS coach Trisha Green. “I knew the girls were going to struggle. A lot of them, this is the first time they’ve ever played 18 (holes); especially walked it.

“It was very slow; it was at least five hours. (But) they didn’t give up.”

Host Bellmont, which had enough players to field two teams, had its “A” squad earn the championship with its score of 404. Garrett was the runner-up with 412, while Norwell shot 435 for third.

Jay County, which had only two players with varsity experience and only one of whom a full 18-hole round, shot 479.

Junior Rosealynne Smith, who played a handful of nine-hole rounds as a sophomore but never a full invitational, led the team with her round of 113.

“Rosealynne played consistent,” Green said. “She didn’t have any double pars. She hit he ball straight all day. She did a really good job; that was a good round for her.”

Sophomore Paityn Chapman, who competed in the sectional tournament for the Patriots last season, was second on the team with her round of 118.

Junior Janae Jacobs made her Patriot debut on the golf course and shot 124, two strokes better than freshman teammate Maddy Snow.

Sophomore Cassandra Coffin was unable to finish her round.

“I think it’s kind of an eye opener of what they need to work on and go from here,” said Green, whose team competed in the South Adams Invitational today at Wabash Valley Golf Club in Geneva. “They’re going to get better. It’s always a long day.

“I feel like the first 18 (holes) is always going to be the hardest.”

And now that these five girls have at played in at least one invitational, with a relatively flatter and easier course in Wabash Valley, Green is hopeful for improvement on Wednesday.

“We had three girls that had never played in a varsity match before,” she said. “A lot of it was just nervousness … I think they’ll do better (Wednesday).”