Patriots improve in second outing

GENEVA — Marvin Buckner is looking for consistent improvement from his girls this season.

That’s what he got from three golfers as the Patriots lowered their score by 23 strokes from their first match to the second.

The improvement helped Jay County High School’s girls golf team to a 468 and a 10th-place finish in the South Adams Invitational at Wabash Valley Golf Course on Wednesday morning.

Norwell’s score of 379 was enough to win the invitational, while Jay County avoided last place by beating Warsaw’s second team (491). 

The Patriots’ score dropped 23 strokes from Tuesday’s season opener in the Bellmont Invitational at Cross Creek Golf Club where they shot 491 to place fifth.

Meah Devoe had the biggest improvement among all of the Patriots, shaving her score of 130 on Tuesday down to 118 Wednesday.

“She seemed more relaxed and not as tense,” Buckner said. “The first match of the season there are always jitters and I noticed she seemed more relaxed.”

Devoe didn’t have the best start to the match as it took her six strokes to reach the green on the 303-yard, par 4 sixth hole, resulting in an eight-stroke double par.

She started to hone in later, shooting bogies on holes seven, nine, 10 and 13.

Devoe’s short game and longer drives carried her to the mid-match success.

“It’s been great. I’ve had some awesome putts,” Devoe said as she approached her ball on the middle of the 14th fairway.

Her drive on the 350-yard, par 4 left her about 20 yards from where the fairway curved to the right. Her second shot was short before she hit an iron into the woods, forcing a drop. She was able to come back from the mistake with a solid chip that left her 15 feet from the hole and sunk another great putt to make good on her word.

Jay County’s No.1 golfer, Maddy Snow, also improved from the opening invitational. She cut her score by seven strokes to earn a 99 on the day, echoing similar sentiments to the day’s success as what Buckner accredited for Devoe.

“I think I was just having a lot more fun right off the bat than I was yesterday,” Snow said. “I was really nervous yesterday. But today is just more about focusing on having fun.”

Snow’s 99 was the best score for the Patriots and was the 13th-best among all golfers. Warsaw’s Claire Reust was the tournament medalist with 87 while Norwell’s Savannah Simerman and South Adam’s Julia Arnold tied for 10th with 97, Simerman winning the tiebreaker.

Another big key to Snow’s success was straightening out her drives to avoid having to lose strokes by dropping extra balls or losing ground by rebounding off of trees.

“(Wabash Valley Golf Club) has a lot of trees, and usually I'm a tree magnet, but today, I was hitting pretty straight,” Snow said. “My drives were straight today, which is an improvement from yesterday. So I’m happy with that.”

Snow parred holes five and seven while adding nine bogies on the day.

Snow saw Wednesday’s match as more than just a step forward from Tuesday, but also a big change from her freshman and sophomore seasons when she shot 122s at the South Adams Invitational.

The 133-yard, 3 par 18th hole stood out to Snow as a sign of improvement. It requires golfers to tee off over water and clear it to reach the green on the other side. In both of Snow’s freshman and sophomore seasons, her first shot went into the water. She didn’t have that problem Wednesday.

Snow wasn’t the only Patriot to clear the water on the 18th, as Devoe, freshmen Whitney McIntire and Brooklyn Bright all joined her. McIntire and Bright were the only players from their foursomes that were able to drive across the water near the green.

“Some of those holes are very intimidating,” Buckner said. “But overall, the girls did great.”

McIntire also stepped up her game from Tuesday to Wednesday. She shaved off six strokes to earn a 121 at Wabash Valley. (Tuesday’s match was the first match McIntire ever competed in.)

She finished with three bogies Wednesday.

“I'm excited and overjoyed that these young girls are just picking the game up and improving,” Buckner said. “As a young coach these are new players just coming on improving from match to match is just amazing to see.

“It lets me as a coach know that they are paying attention and they are dedicated.”

Bright was the final golfer to score for the Patriots, finishing with a 130.

Jamie Davis’ score of 140 did not count towards the team score.