Putnam County girls' golf swings into action this week

Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Lauren Bridgewater tees off in one of the first matches of the fall season. (Banner Graphic/TRENT SCOTT)

It was a nice day to drive around and it was opening day for the Greencastle girls' golf team that looked very familiar to opening day last year, as the Tiger Cubs took on Monrovia Monday.

Both squads were nearly identical to the groups that took aim at Windy Hill County Club 12 months ago and the result stayed the same as the Tiger Cubs held off the Bulldogs 209-215.

By the time August rolled around last year, the courses around Putnam County were a little more than brown grass and tumbleweeds. This year the layout at Windy Hill welcomed the two squads with lush fairways and lightning-fast greens.

Lokysa Schuermann tees off on the first hole. She took the top score for Greencastle on Monday at Windy Hill Country Club. (Banner Graphic/TRENT SCOTT)

With the course in great shape, Greencastle head coach Bob Hedge said that ball striking was a big part of what propelled the squad to a score that was 16 strokes better than last season's opener.

"I was pretty happy, especially with the way we struck the ball," Hedge said. "The fact that we lowered our score almost 20 strokes over last year showed great improvement.

"Last year, we had several circle scores where the girls would pick up the ball after reaching a certain score.

"Between our top five today, we only had to circle scores today and those came from hitting the ball out of bounds," Hedge added. "We struck the ball well but we need to cut down the number of putts."

Greencastle's Lauren Bridgewater and Lokysa Scheuermann led the Tiger Cubs with dueling 49's. Freshman Macey Masten, the only new face on the course, shot 54.

Hedge noted that Masten, sent into the fray at in the No. 2 slot, handled herself well over the course of the round.

"I thought Macey did well, though she probably would tell you she was not happy with the way she played," Hedge said. "Macey is very low key, so she doesn't get very high or low.

"She got a hole-in-one last year (at Turkey Run) and if you talked to her, you'd never know it. She's very even-tempered, which is a good thing to be as a golfer."

Haley Cash carded a 57 to round out the scoring for the hosts while Lindsey Bridgewater and Gabby Selvia shot 61, Alex Weliever came in at 67 and Alexa Newlin made the turn with a 69.

Cash's round also caught the attention of Hedge.

"Haley Cash had a score that wasn't as great as it could be but she came out and struck the ball really well today," Hedge said. "She struggled at times as a junior last year, so I'm happy to see she's getting some confidence in her game and hopefully we can build on that."

Monrovia's Meredith Kneiper handled the course the best for a round of 43 and medalist honors while Baylee Russell came in at 52, Maddie Wright carded 57, Ally Brown scored 63 and Daisy Bennett shot 64 for the Bulldogs.

While not all the members of the squad would travel to Terre Haute on Tuesday, Hedge pointed out that having seven returning golfers would mean increased competition week in and week out for the five varsity spots available for each match.

"It's always good to have competition for spots in the top five," Hedge said. "Right now, we have five players who are challenging for the fourth and fifth spots.

"I hope it's that way all year. I hope they challenge each other and that way, they all get playing time and it's going to make us better if they're working hard to beat each other out and that makes everyone else better."


At Windy Hill CC

Greencastle 209, Monrovia 215


Medalist -- Meredith Kneiper (M) 43

Individual Scores

Greencastle --La. Bridgewater 49, Scheuermann 49, Masten 54, Cash 57, Li. Bridgewater 61, Selvia 61, Weliever 67, Newlin 69

Monrovia -- Kneiper 43, Russell 52, Wright 57, Brown 63, Bennett 64

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