Short game

By ANDREW BALKO

The Commercial Review

MIAMISBURG, Ohio — Reece LeFevre had one of his toughest rounds of the season.

Yet still he had a chance on the final hole of the day to force a tie for the final state berth.

And while the determining shot came from 225 yards away from the hole, it was the greens that ultimately held the Indian senior back.

LeFevre, a Fort Recovery High School senior on the boys golf team, shot an 80 at the OHSAA Division III Southwest District tournament at PipeStone Golf Club on Tuesday to fall just two strokes short of a potential trip to the state tournament.

Only the top two teams advanced to the state tournament, which will be held at Northstar Golf Club on Oct. 13 and 14, while the two best individual scores from players not on advancing teams also made it through. While LeFevre’s 80 finished just ninth overall in the district, he came up two strokes short of Russia’s Leo Counts for a state berth. Matia Kastner of Seven Hills claimed the first spot at state with a one-over-par 73, which also earned district medalist honors.

“Dissapointed because I knew what needed to be done and what I can do,” LeFevre said. “It was my worst round of the year unfortunately. I’ve been playing solid all year and just didn’t have it. … I brought about a B- instead of an A.”

Despite not having the round he would have wanted — LeFevre finished with eight bogeys and 10 pars — prior to the 16th hole he realized he had a shot if he could find a way to shave two strokes off.

The FRHS senior hit the fairway on both holes and found the green in regulation for good looks at birdie putts. On the 16th, his birdie putt broke right just a little early to miss by an inch and sit a few feet beyond the hole before he tapped in for par. On the 17th green, LeFevre putted from 15 feet away and had the ball rest right on the lip of the cup without falling in, forcing a second par.

If he wanted to tie Counts, he needed to eagle the 500-yard, par-5 18th hole.

“I knew I needed something special on the 18th,” LeFevre said. “I understood that every shot was just so important. To give myself a chance to tie and go into a playoff is just so important. … Every shot is important, whether it’s the end of the round or the beginning of the round.”

His drive didn’t help his cause as he pulled the ball so far to the left that he felt the need to hit a provisional (which would have needed to go directly in the hole had it counted). He ended up finding his ball in a red-staked area trapped between four large logs. The first log LeFevre easily moved so that he could get a clear visual on his ball, while teammates and an official helped him move a second to clear up the swing path for his club. However, there were two more, one on the ground and another two feet above, in the way of the fairway that he could not remove and would need to split.

With a potential trip to state on the line, LeFevre perfectly split the logs to punch out onto the fairway and even gained an extra 40 yards to get a clear look at the hole.

“That’s not a shot you practice, but I understood from years of golfing how to hit the shot,” LeFevre said.

He had one final attempt to hole the ball from 225 yards out, but the approach shot came up just 15 feet short on the green to end his chances.

He two-putted to finish hole No. 18 with a par.

Putting was what in large part held LeFevre back throughout the tournament, as he failed to one-putt a single green. The troubles started on the second hole, where he three-putted for bogey, and he just couldn’t get something to fall after that.

LeFevre still always put himself in a position birdie every hole, but just couldn’t finish the job on the green.

“He did keep himself in the round the entire day and just came up short a couple of putts,” said FRHS coach Dean Sanders. “Putts just really weren’t falling. I think that was for everybody today.”

This was LeFevre's final round repping the Tribe. 

He put together a strong senior season for Fort Recovery, earning match medalist 11 times, finishing with the third most Midwest Athletic Conference points and leading the Tribe to an 8-6 season. 

Over the entire course of the season, he averaged 37.9 strokes per contest.

“Reece has meant a lot to this program,” Sanders said. “He is obviously a great person. … He’s someone who always carries our team and always uplifts our team. As in a golfer, he has worked so hard at this game. I’m so proud of everything he has done for us.

“I have never seen anybody work as hard at the game as he has and it’s extremely heartbreaking to see this end today.”

While LeFevre couldn’t punch his ticket to Sunbury, he’s walking away as one of the Tribe’s more decorated golfers and with a plethora of knowledge that will help him grow his career as he moves on to college.

“I understand that there’s a good chance I have four more years of golf to play collegiately,” LeFevre said. “I kind of understand how the feel is and I got to take it with what I can and work off of it. …

“I thought I was out of it after 12 holes but you just got to realize that you’ve gotta stay in it.”