Jay pulls out double win

Last year, the Patriots’ lineup stayed pretty consistent, while this season has had more shakeup.

The top two golfers had been strong, while the rest floated in limbo.

In the most recent match, things came together to look like the team they thought they could be in the preseason.

All of the members of the Jay County High School boys golf team shot scores beneath 45 to finish with a team score of 164 and beat Bellmont and Bluffton on Thursday at Portland Golf Club.

Jay County (6-1, 2-0 Allen County Athletic Conference) had all five golfers put up strong numbers, including their No. 4 and No. 5 golfers Liam Garringer and Luke Fugiett who both scored for the team.

“I’m really happy,” JCHS coach Dave Haines said. “I expect Gage (Sims), Cody (DeHoff) and Caleb (DeRome) to play pretty consistently. Luke and Liam have been up and down a little bit so I was really happy for them to come through and shoot in the low 40s.”

Garringer’s night started on the 370-yard, par-4 11th hole. He drove the ball off the tee about 270 yards to the center of the fairway.

From there, Garringer found the front edge of the slope that leads up to the green, barely missing getting on the green in regulation. The Jay County senior’s chip came in a little bit too hot, bouncing off the pin, but it only rebounded about three 3 from the hole. He sunk the putt to earn a par.

“I parred the first hole and I just knew I was going to take off from there,” Garringer said casually after the match.

Garringer only finished with one par, but had six bogeys and one of the two JCHS birdies. His came on the 10th hole, a par 4 with the tees sitting 348 yards away.

Fugiett shot the other birdie for the Patriots. His came on the 178-yard, par-3 18th hole. Both golfers finished with a score of 43 to contribute to the team total.

DeRome earned match medalist honors with a 38. His only significant slip up came on hole No. 11 where he shot a double bogey. A bogey on the 13th was the only other time he shot over par the rest of the match.

DeRome also started his day with a par on the 10th hole. His tee shot landed next to a bridge 136 yards away from the pin. His second put him at the base of the large hill leading to the green. DeRome’s chip left him just 3 feet short for an easy putt for par.

“I played pretty well and pretty consistent today,” DeRome said. “My putting was pretty good tonight and my driver was pretty good too, but my irons were definitely the best.”

Belmont had four golfers tie for the top team score of 42 strokes. Owen Minnick, Ben Binegar, Brady Malone and Cameron Summers scored, while Carson Manley finished with a 45.

Bluffton’s top two scorers, Declan Grieser and Connor Klopfenstein, shot 45s as well.

Gage Sims had the second-best score of the match with a 40. Sims started with two bogeys then rattled off six straight pars before ending on a sour note, sending two balls out of bounds long off the tee on hole No. 18 to double par.

Cody DeHoff also had a strong start, sitting at just two strokes over par through the first five holes, but three-straight double-bogeys hurt him. His 44 strokes did not affect the team score.

DeRome, Sims and Fugiett beat the other two members of their threesomes, while DeHoff had two more strokes than Malone and Garringer only had one more than Summers.

“That’s always your goal,” Haines said. “If you beat the guys you’re playing against, then you’re helping the team. I’ve always found that if you’re playing with someone you’re competing against, you play better.”