The host Tigers took home the crown with a team 309. Plymouth finished 319, good for second on the fifth man score of 86, Culver Academy 319 finished third with a fifth score of 96. All three teams advance to Regional play at Stonehenge in Winona Lake next Thursday. Plymouth will tee it up off #10 starting at 8am. Five Regional sites around the state advance their top 3 teams and their top 5 individuals from each site.
The Pilgrims we’re lead today by senior all-state candidate Micah Calhoun who scraped together a 75. Micah’s round got off to very auspicious start, a bogey on 1 and a disaster quintuple bogey on the par 3 #2. After two holes Micah found himself +6! I was impressed with Micah’s poise today. Like a senior, leader, true competitor, he bared down and got to work. After a par on 3 he hit a great approach on 4 to within 2 inches of the cup! An eagle would’ve been nice but a birdie was just what he needed at that point. He proceeded to par out on the front and turn in 40. Dropped shots on 11 and 13 spelled trouble but once again he wrestled up the courage. He quickly birdied 14, made a solid par on 15, birdied 16, then birdied 17! His bid for par on 18 came up short as his par saving putt was simply too far from the jar. Starting +6 through 2 and finishing with a flurry ending at only +5 was quite a scrapping round. From holes 3-18 Micah played in -1. His ability to compete, bounce back, and gut it out today was impressive!
John Gerard struggled with the flat stick today but his ball striking kept him in position time and again today. John’s 78 was very helpful to our team score. He would’ve loved to have cashed in on his many opportunities. Hudson Yoder started strong going +1 through 7 holes. Dropped shots on 8 and 9 hurt is first nine score however he was our leading guy at the turn with 38. His back nine got a bit loose with a 43 for a misleading 81. Playing in his first Varsity match Sophomore Chapman Yoder got off to a rocky start but settled into his earned start. Chapman’s first nine 43 put him in a tie with his playing competitor from Warsaw at the turn and in great position. His back nine was smoother, just a rough #17, triple bogey, inflated his respectable round of 85. Grant Clady rounded out our scoring with a 86.
Notables:
Second “team advance” to Regional in the past three seasons. Previous teams 1963, 2006, 2015, 2017. Last year we shot 317 and missed advancing – we shot 319 today and got 2nd.
Our event leading into Sectional we tied the 2006 team’s school record 301. 2006 team shot 301 at Regional – earning them 3rd – advanced to State. Previous to 2006 only state team was 1963.
