Greencastle downs Cougars at Windy Hill

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

GREENCASTLE -- Led by Chelsea Samuels's 44 and Katie Hedge's 49, Greencastle defeated North Putnam 213-242 in a West Central Conference golf match Monday at Windy Hill Country Club.

Diane Wokoun shot 57 and McKenzie St. Marie shot 63 to complete the Tiger Cubs' scoring total.

Emmy Rees led the Cougars with a 58 and Meagan Schutter had 59. They were followed by Ellen Wilborn's 61 and Josie Parent's 64 in the four-player scoring total.

Samuels may have been medalist in the match, but she wasn't pleased with how she played.

"It wasn't good," she said. "My driving wasn't going strong and I need to work on my chipping. My putting was OK."

Samuels has had a busy summer. She played summer league basketball at least two games a week for Greencastle, worked at a community pool and played practice rounds of golf. Samuels finished second in the first flight in the four-round Brazil Amateur Open last week.

"I did pretty well," Samuels said. "It helped a lot to get into the competitive mode of golf. The first round (determined by strokes) was for seeding and the last three was match play. I played close to 72 holes and lost in the championship match."

Samuels has played both golf and volleyball for Greencastle in her high school career but has decided to cut back and play only golf this season.

"I want to focus on golf," Samuels said. "I'm shooting for a college scholarship like a full ride in college."

Coach Brad Kigma wasn't happy, either, with how the Tiger Cubs (2-0, 2-0 WCC) played on their home course against the Cougars (0-1, 0-1 WCC).

"We did not play well, I'll just say that," Kigma said. "We can do better. We have to play better whether there's adversity from slow play or hot conditions."

Wokoun wasn't as sharp as she's been this season. She had a 49 in the season opener against Monrovia at Deer Creek.

"Diane has been playing pretty well and she's put in a lot of work," Kigma said. "She had a practice round of 44 and all her rounds had been in the 40s. We're going to be pretty good at No. 1 (Samuels) and No. 2 (Hedge) this season, and when she (Wokoun) gets good rounds and some confidence, we'll be in pretty good shape.

"Last year, we had only four players and they're (Wokoun and St. Marie) both starting to come around and hit good shots."

Kay Wood had a 64 for Greencastle. She played for the Tiger Cubs as a freshman and sophomore, but didn't play last season.

"I'm pleased to have her out," Kigma said.

It was the first dual match of the year for North Putnam.

"This is our first nine-hole match this year and we're seeing the same scores we ended with last year," Cougars' coach Linda Patrick said. "I'm not disappointed in our first nine of the year. We're looking for improvement this season.

Rees, a sophomore, had never played golf before coming out for North Putnam last year.

"That was a good score for her," Patrick said. "The first time she ever picked up a club was last year."

Schutter, a junior, is coming off a two-year hiatus from the team and is beginning to get her swing back.

"We were playing a tough course for our first nine of the year," Patrick said. "We'll get better."

At Windy Hill Country Club, Greencastle

Greencastle 213, North Putnam 242

Medalist -- Samuels.

Greencastle -- Chelsea Samuels 44, Katie Hedge 49, Diane Wokoun 57, McKenzie St. Marie 63, Kay Wood 64, Liz Johnson 73.

North Putnam -- Emmy Rees 58, Meagan Schutter 59, Ellen Wilborn 61, Josie Parent 64, Carlie Shearer 65, Valerie Scott 70, Courtney Smith 75.

Next matches -- North Putnam plays at Southmont with Seeger on Wednesday starting at 5 p.m.; Greencastle plays at Brownsburg with Cascade on Thursday starting at 4:30 p.m.