Hard rain makes soft greens

WINCHESTER — Rain began to drizzle as the Indians and Blackhawks made their way out to the first tee boxes of the day.

Less than 10 minutes after the first drive, Caleb Smith tapped in to take a double-bogey on the first hole, while Reece LeFevre chipped back up onto the fringe after his second shot hit the green and bounded past.

Before LeFevre could hit his fourth shot, the horn blared and the teams made their way back to the clubhouse.

After a lightning strike that caused a power outage, some snacks and an hour to reflect on the start, the teams were rushed back out to resume play. It took about a hole to get the hang of things, but the Tribe ran away with the restart.

The Fort Recovery High School boys golf team had all six players shoot in the mid-40s or better on Tuesday to pull out a 161-180 victory over the Mississinawa Valley Blackhawks at Winchester Golf Club.

“It was a great strong day for our guys today, we actually had the best score of the year,” said FRHS coach Dean Sanders. “Today I saw something that I’ve been looking for out of this team from the beginning, we haven’t really had it until this match, it’s consistency. Everybody was in the 40s and had a couple of 30s.”

One of those 30s came from Smith as he put up a season-best 39 strokes, one off his career low.

While Smith had a strong day, he did not have a strong start to the match. His opening drive landed in a water trap before he eventually finished with a double-bogey on the hole, just before the weather delay.

Smith took advantage of the off hour to reset and come out anew on hole No. 2.

“I tried to forget about that first hole with the double and got to regroup myself in the clubhouse,” Smith said. “I forgot about the first hole and started with a new round basically and it went well.”

His drive on the 138-yard, par-3 hole bounced and landed eight feet short of the green. It took him three putts — the first left him five feet short, the second broke early to the left and the third tapped in — to read how the greens would react following the rain.

He put that newfound knowledge to quick use on the 298-yard, par-4 third hole. Smith tattooed his ball off the tee, resulting in it resting 25 feet from the hole. His chip shot stopped 10 inches from the cup for an easy tap in to claim a birdie.

“We knew that the greens were going to be not as bouncy and a little more receptive,” Smith said. “So I kind of just played it a little longer than I would have if it hadn’t rained and just let it spin and it sat down.”

Smith had one more birdie on the fifth hole and added three pars.

Smith wasn’t the only Indian to come out strong after the break. LeFevre put the finishing touches on a bogey on hole No. 1 before having a similar second hole to Smith with a drive that landed on the green and three-putting.

He played the third hole nearly perfectly as his tee shot landed him 33 feet away from the hole under a tree on the right side. His chip died on the green four feet short of the hole and a well-placed putt lipped all the way around the cup before popping out. 

He finished off the hole with a par.

“That one hurt because it’s a momentum shift,” said LeFevre, who has been the medalist in every contest this season. “Luckily I had a tap in par which is good to get going after the rain delay. … It would have been nice to have but in hindsight, a par helped the momentum.”

The sting didn’t last long as the senior had a beat on the course and the rain. Knowing that the greens were now holding, he played the next four holes (two par-5s and two par-4s that totaled 1,712 yards) so that he would land just short of the cup in regulation and putt in for four consecutive birdies.

“Once the greens get wet, you can hit shots closer to the pin and give yourself more opportunities,” LeFevre said. “On the first hole here, before the rain delay, my ball bounced over the green, you take a bogey there. … That rain definitely helped shift momentum, helped you land stuff closer and helped you get more opportunities and it definitely went well.”

Luke Fortkamp, a senior on the Fort Recovery High School boys golf team, sends a putt near the pin on the seventh hole at Winchester Golf Club on Tuesday. Fortkamp contributed to the team score for the first time on Monday and followed it up with a 44 to help the Tribe beat Mississinawa Valley 161-180. (The Commercial Review/Andrew Balko)

 

LeFevre finished with a one-under-par 35 to lead the Indians (4-0) and earn the match medalist title. (Jackson Beanblossom finished with a 37 to lead the MVHS.) In all LeFevre had four birdies, two pars and three bogeys.

The other four Indians had strong matches as well. Andrew Rehmert made three pars and five bogeys to card a 43, while Luke Fortkamp rounded out the team score with a 44 that included three pars and four bogeys.

The two scores that didn’t get used, Garrett Diller’s 45 and Will Westgerdes’ 46, still came with solid rounds as the former shot a birdie, two pars and two bogeys, while the latter had eight bogeys and one double-bogey.

The Tribe never shot worse than a double-bogey, doing so nine times.

“When you see scores like that, you know the potential of the guys,” Sanders said. “I have full confidence in these guys being able to play fantastic golf. … We’ve got a nucleus of a really great team ahead. Obviously today is an example of how well they can play. I thought it was a fantastic day for the guys and I’m real proud of them.”