Cougars hope to repeat sectional golf title today

Friday, June 3, 2016

Tiger Cubs also among tourney favorites

Sectional golf play starts today at the Harrison Hills Course in Attica for three of the four Putnam county boys' squads, with North Putnam looking to defend its 2015 sectional title.

Greencastle, North Putnam and South Putnam will be competing in the 14-team event along with Attica, Covington, Crawfordsville, Fountain Central, North Montgomery, North Vermillion, Rockville, Seeger, South Vermillion, Southmont and Turkey Run .

The first groups tee off at 9 a.m.

Cloverdale is in the 11-team Martinsville sectional, which begins play at 9:30 a.m. on Monday at the Foxcliff Golf Course. Other competing teams are Avon, Brownsburg, Cascade, Danville, Martinsville, Monrovia, Mooresville, Owen Valley, Plainfield and Tri-West.

The top three teams from both the Attica and Martinsville sectionals, plus the top three individual players not on an advancing team, will move on to compete in the regional tournament at Washington's Country Oaks Golf Club on Thursday.

Here is a team-by-team look at the Putnam County squads:

Greencastle

Coach Steve Paquin feels the The Tiger Cubs have had "an outstanding season," and the numbers don't lie.

The team is 17-2 in duals, triangular and quadrangular meets. In tournaments, the Cubs have finished in first, second, third and fourth place.

Greencastle won the Putnam County championship, and finished sixth in the Western Indiana Conference meet with an undermanned team as Blaise Hasty was sick and did not compete.

Statistically, the Tiger Cubs averaged 42.0 strokes per nine holes and 340 strokes in 18-hole tournaments.

The team is led by Jake Buis with 38.6 strokes per nine holes, followed by Jake Bennett with a 41.7, Hasty with a 43.5, Jonah Stevens with 44.6 and Jaxon Parmley with 46.2.

"We improved throughout the season and are now playing our best golf going into sectionals," Paquin said. "As far the sectional is concerned, we have not lost to any of the sectional teams we have played so far this season. We have worked very hard this season and hope to advance to the regional for the fourth straight year."

North Putnam

Last year, the Cougars won by nine strokes over Southmont and 18 shots over Greencastle in the sectional which was played at Crawfordsville.

North Putnam finished 10-4 on the season in dual matches, won the Southmont Invitational, finished second in the county meet and finished third in the conference.

"We finished the season playing some of our best golf," coach Shawn Alspaugh said. "After conference, we shot 165, 155, and 163 as a team in our final three matches.

Austin Judy has really gotten into form, Alspaugh said, shooting 38, 37, 35 and 38 in his last four dual matches. He placed second individually in last year's sectional with a 77.

"Jake Holtze is playing some good golf, and if we can get his putting figured out, his scores will drop drastically," said Alspaugh, in his first year as the NP coach. "Logan [Grim] and Preston [Porter] have been a little more up and down, but the scores have been trending downward throughout the season."

Alspaugh said his team is "hopeful" of continuing its tourney success.

"The ultimate goal is just to get out of sectionals and make it to regionals, but we are defending champs and we want to keep it that way," he said. "That being said, based on the pairings, we seem to be seeded fifth, which we feel is a little insulting. Hopefully we can prove that wrong."

Alspaugh noted his Cougars have already beaten three of the four teams in the final pairing this year, and he hopes his players can use that as confidence going into the tourney.

"If we get all four guys playing solid golf, there's no reason we can't make a run at a sectional title," he said. "But ultimately, if we play smart, solid golf, we feel we should advance."

South Putnam

Eagle coach Kevin Metz admits his team was "a little inconsistent" this season on the course.

"On days we had meets, we struggled having four out of six guys shoot a typical low score for them," Metz said. "My goal for the team this year was to shoot a sub-200 round. While we never made that mark, I was pleased with our low of 201."

Sophomore Tyler Hicks has been the top player for the Eagles, showing tremendous improvement since carding an 89 in last year's sectional as a freshman.

Hicks was one shot behind Judy for the individual Putnam County championship.

"I'm anxious to watch Tyler Hicks play," Metz said. "He's been playing pretty good golf lately, and if he's able to shoot a good score Friday, he may have a chance to advance. If he's unable to move on this year, he's got two more years.

"As far as the team goes, I'm hoping that we are able to improve our scores from conference," he added. "The boys know it's been a down year for us, however, they always have good attitudes on, and off the course."

Cloverdale

Wednesday summed up the 2016 spring season for the Clovers, as they took a bus ride to Linton for a match only to have it canceled due to rain and lightning.

The last match the Clovers played was on May 19 against Martinsville, so coach Doug Wokoun is unsure how his team will perform after nearly two weeks off from match competition.

"I honestly don't know what to expect at Martinsville," he said. "We have had some pretty good efforts in practice, but there has been a lot going on."

Wokoun said Chase Snyder has been playing his best golf of the spring leading up to Monday 's sectional.

"It is always a real challenge to get out of our sectional," Wokoun said. "His play the last few rounds offers a reason to be optimistic about his chances."

Wokoun also credits Zach Nichols and Drew Boyette with showing great improvement.

"They have started to see their work this spring pay off," he said. "I think for them the confidence they are building has been very important.

"Kylar [Galloway] is always capable of putting up a strong number, but with graduation and his job starting, his time has been tight," Wokoun added. "Not getting to play at Linton is a setback for him, but he always battles, so he might come up with something."

Wokoun said it would take an "exceptional" day for the team to advance, considering the strength of the sectional field, but it's not inconceivable.

"Individual advance is available, and presents a more likely option," he said. "Who puts up that score is a puzzle. We will go and compete at our best and see where that puts us."

Despite its inconsistency, Wokoun likes his team and the effort the Clovers have put forth.

"We have been hot and cold more this year than we have been for several years, and the unexpected always find a way to creep in," he said. "Our consistency has not been a strength this season. It makes any prediction or expectation about the sectional very tenuous."

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