Hitting new lows

PARKER CITY — The Patriots had averaged over 225 strokes per nine holes coming into their sixth match.

A pair of career bests helped the Patriots smash their low score of the season.

Yet still, it wasn’t enough to take down the Golden Bears.

Bailey Towell and Erin Aker both shot the best rounds of their career, but the Jay County High School girls golf team couldn’t overcome the Monroe Central Golden Bears, as the host topped the Patriots 195-202 at Hickory Hills Golf Course on Monday.

“I feel really good (about our score),” said JCHS coach Carissa Allred. “I was kind of worried coming in after a weekend where we didn’t have any practice or any play time. We have a really busy week with matches Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and ACAC on Saturday, so I am extremely excited about our 202 score today.”

The Patriots’ previous low score came in their most recent match against Fort Recovery and Winchester on Sept. 3, when they shot a 216. Their new score slashed 14 strokes off that score.

A big source of that cut came from Aker, the sophomore in the No. 4 position. Previously, Aker’s lowest score was a 58 that she shot twice, first at Woodlan then against Adams Central. She shaved seven strokes off that number for a round of 51.

“At practice we’ve been working on some technique and her form,” Allred said. “Today, at the beginning, her form started to slip a little bit. I reminded her (on hole No. 5) of what we were working on and from there, she was hitting it straight and hitting it far and in the air.

“This is easily her best score by (seven) strokes. So her score today is going to be the big contributing factor to our 202 for sure.”

One hole that benefited from the improvements with her drivers and irons was the 120-yard, par-3 eighth hole. Off the tee, her first shot landed her just short of the fringe. A chip got her within 10 feet of the hole before a pair of putts got the ball in for bogey.

Aker also made a pair of pars on the third hole, a 280-yard, par-4 and the ninth, a 278-yard, par-4.

The No. 2 JCHS golfer, Towell also set a new career mark. The freshman’s previous best score of 49 strokes came in the Sept. 3 match, before she lowered down to 48 on Monday.

“I’ve been spending three to four hours on the range the day before to work on anything I need to improve on,” Towell said. “A lot of repeating hits and fixing things.”

Towell only had three holes, where she shot worse than a bogey.

Her best stretch came between holes No. 3-7. She made bogey four times, spaced out only by a par on the 230-yard, par-4 No. 6 hole.

Her drive left the ball 25 yards short of the green, but a chip landed her where a bunker normally would be. Her second chip put her on the green 12 feet away from the cup, but a good put broke right to fall in for par.

Maddy Snow tied Towell at 48 strokes, the best score for Jay County (1-7). Snow had a slow start to the round, but finished strong with bogeys on the ninth and first hole before finishing with two pars on the second and third.

Monroe Central senior Maleigh Ervin ran away with match medalist honors as she shot a 42 to propel her team to victory.

The final score for the Patriots came from Brooklynn Bright with a 55. The sophomore’s best stretch included two bogeys on holes No. 7 and 8 and a par on the ninth.

A career-best 64 strokes from Jaycee Rowles didn’t impact the final tally.

Now that the Patriots have proved they can graze the low 200s, Allred is hoping they will strive for that moving forward.

“I think once the girls see that score, it’s a mental game,” Allred said. “Now they see it and know they can achieve it. Even though, we may have lost, by far this is the best match and I hope that their mental attitude will get them to do it tomorrow.”

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Jay County girls golf at Monroe Central (9/9/2024)