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Lincoln golfer Ryan Montgomery, center, watches as teammate Hunter Munford putts out on the No. 3 green at the Dix River Golf Course in Stanford in the Patriots¿ loss to East Jessamine. (Nancy Leedy / nancy@theinteriorjournal.com / August 8, 2012) |
East Jessamine played spoiler in the Lincoln County’s boys golf opener Monday, posting a five-stroke win over the host Patriots.
Lincoln’s Zach Johnson carded the day’s low round at Dix River Golf Course Monday, with a 3-over-par 38, but 12 strokes separated the top four players, putting Lincoln at 178 and opening the door for the visiting Jaguars.
And the Jaguars walked right in, led by Bruner and Walker with rounds of 41. Only eight strokes separated East’s scoring players with Jackson shooting a 42 and Philpot a 49 to give East Jessamine a 173.
Taylor Edwards and Roland Taylor both shot 45 for Lincoln in the opening match and Shade Jacobs and Hunter Munford, shared the fourth scoring spot with rounds of 50.
“I think we were a little nervous with it being our first match,” said Patriot coach David Ledford. “They (Jaguars) had already played a tournament and I think having played gave them an advantage.”
Ledford felt course conditions may have also factored into the day’s scoring.
“It think it was set up pretty tough,” he said. “I think it had been set up tougher because of the club championship that was supposed to have been played last weekend. And it was a challenge for them at times.”
One who didn’t seem too bothered by the course was Johnson, an LCHS senior, who had the only sub-40 round of the day.
“Zach played well today and he’s going to be our leader,” Ledford said. “He was the two-man behind Chris Butler last year and he got a lot of experience. He’ll shoot right at par most of the time. I know he may not play his best every day, but on an off day he’s still going to be about 40 or 41.”
Edwards, a junior, and Taylor, an eighth-grader, were the 2-men behind Johnson Monday and Jacobs, a senior, and Munford, a sophomore, figured in the team scoring. Ledford says he expects those names to repeat often.
“That next level is all pretty close,” he said. “Taylor, Shade Roland and Hunter I think will continue to shoot better and help us and I expect Ryan Montgomery and Noah Brown to also move up.”
Lincoln will get the chance to tackle its home course again next Tuesday as the Patriots play host to Boyle County, and Ledford hopes to see improved scoring.
“The 178 we shot today, I think we are better than that,” he said. “I think we just needed to get a match in and shake the nerves. I think we will get better.”
