Cougars, Clovers battle wind at Danville Invite

Monday, April 15, 2013
Cloverdale sophomore Rylan Mattocks lines up a putt on hole 15 at Twin Bridges on Saturday. His ninja-like mask shielded him from the cold and windy conditions. (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)

The North Putnam and Cloverdale boys' golf teams participated in the Danville Invitational on Saturday. The Cougars shot a 373, good for eighth out of 15 teams. Cloverdale finished the 18-hole event with a 399.

Early in the day North Putnam coach Linda Patrick knew that the tough weather conditions would be hard to handle.

"Cold temperatures, gusty winds and a wind chill near freezing at the start of the day, I was very pleased with boys attempting to keep their hands from stinging, preventing fat shots, and fighting fast greens," she said. "No team really had any advantage playing in these conditions."

Patrick also knew coming in that the boys would probably not win unless they each played their best round.

"Overall our scores faired well in meet," she said. "I felt knowing the teams we were facing we would probably score in the middle of the field."

Leading the Cougar charge was junior Mason Asher who had an 85.

"The greens were faster than they normally are," Asher said. "For the conditions they were extremely fast. I believe if we had normal conditions everyone in the field could have taken off at least 10 strokes."

Sophomore Danny Smith and freshman Austin Judy both carded 92's while junior Jake Smith had a 104 and the lone senior Jon Willard had a 105.

"The strong wind made it tough today," Smith said. "I know that everyone that played for our team today can shoot lower scores, it was just pretty tough out there."

Willard said he had many confident shots that led to disappointment.

"The wind really affected the balls in the air today, I lost four balls using clubs that normally would have got me on the green," he stated.

The Cougars have a big week and Patrick said she hopes the team

"Some players exhibited a little more impatience with their game, which led to quicker shots without thoughtfully thinking out the shot," Patrick said. "With four meets coming up next week, the boys are going to have to improve these shortcomings during meets."

Cloverdale coach Doug Wokoun said his team had a difficult time with the conditions as well.

The cold, breezy day Saturday was contrary to what the Clovers have dealt with in practice sessions for the past week.

"We haven't played yet when the wind wasn't just ridiculous -- practice or a match," Wokoun said. "We've had some stretches of real good holes, but the ones that aren't are real bad."

The Clovers have a young, inexperienced squad that will be continuing to improve throughout the year. Of their five golfers on Saturday, two are juniors (Devin Bassett, Aaron Whitlock), two are sophomores (Rylan Mattocks, Freddie Fisler) and one is a freshman (Chase Snyder).

"It's still too early for us, as young as we are, to find consistency," Wokoun said. "We'll get back after it ... We'll hope that it won't be windy, we'll hope that it'll be warm and we'll try to be more consistent. That's the bottom line of everything. We're just not consistent."

Brownsburg won the event with a 320, followed by a three-team tie for second place between Greenwood, Mooresville and Terre Haute North.

Only eight golfers broke 80 on the day, including medalist Adam LeGrange of Terre Haute North. He shot a 73.

The Cougars have a meets at Tri-West on Monday, at Western Boone on Tuesday, at home (Twin Bridges) against South Putnam on Thursday and Saturday at the Danville Invitational.

Cloverdale plays at Northview at Forest Park on Monday and hosts Monrovia on Thursday at Clover Meadows.

North Putnam junior Mason Asher closes out his tournament on Saturday with a putt to finish at 85. (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)



At Twin Bridges (Danville)

Team scoring
1. Brownsburg, 320; T2. Greenwood, Mooresville, Terre Haute North, 324; 5. Terre Haute South, 331; 6. Fishers, 333; 7. Greenfield, 360; 8. North Putnam, 373; 9. Pike, 375; 10. Shenandoah, 378; 11. Southmont, 387; 12. Crawfordsville, 388; 13. Cloverdale, 399; 14. Danville, 417; 15. Seton Catholic, 427; 16. Monrovia, 433; 17. North Montgomery, 444.

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