Brutal weather conditions.
That’s been the story for the Sweet Home golfers, even after the rain stopped.
On Monday the girls played in the district preview meet at Santiam Golf Club – without their top player, Haley May, who was out of town.
“It was freezing,” Coach Pat Davis said.
Despite the wind chill, Alayna Davis carded her best round of the year, a 113.
“She’s hitting the ball really well. That’s exciting, seeing the improvement,” Pat Davis said.
Nicole Grady also finished with her best score of the year, a 126.
“She’s also hitting the ball very well,” Davis said. “She just needs to get her scores down.”
Freshmen Brook Womack and Lexi Schilling played a full 18 holes for the first time.
“Their scores showed it,” Davis said, adding that the two are making noticeable progress.
Rebekah Fassler, also a freshman, played nine holes but carded her first par ever.
The girls’ next meet will be the district tournament Monday and Tuesday, May 8-9, also at Santiam, in Stayton.
Though May qualified for state last year, Davis said the league has gotten tougher with the addition of several new, young players. He said May will have to play well to qualify this year.
“We’re definitely young,” Davis said. “Haley is not a lock. We’re on the outside, looking in. Alayna and Haley would have to go lower than they have all year. Three girls would have to get really hot and put two together back-to-back.”
The same holds true for the boys, who last Thursday, April 28, played at Diamond Woods in Junction City in conditions that, Davis said, coaches agreed were the toughest they’d seen – possibly ever.
“The course was long and the ground was squishy,” he said. “When the rain quit and the sun came out, it got windy.”
In those conditions, Jake Hindmarsh led the Huskies with a 95, followed by Seth Wright (102), freshman Carson Smith (110), Jackson Lynn (117) and freshman Davin Guzman (130). Freshman Travis Thorpe, who, Davis said, has secured a varsity spot for the district meet next Monday and Tuesday, was out of town.
Davis said that round is important, along with another 18 holes on Thursday at Big Meadow in Black Butte, because they are qualifiers for Smith, Lynn and Guzman.
“We’re taking the two low scorers,” he said. The district tournament will be at Tokatee in Cottage Grove, with state following for both boys and girls on May 15-16 at Trysting Tree in Corvallis.
The Huskies finished sixth out of seven teams without Thorpe and Davis said they are, like the girls, “on the outside looking in.”
Hindmarsh would have to shoot in the 80s over two days to qualify, he predicted.
“We’re hoping for possibly an outside chance for the boys as a team,” he said. “But it’s very outside.”