It wasn’t quite the score they wanted, but Daniel Love and the Daviess County boys’ golf team ran away with the city-county tournament Tuesday at The Pearl Club.
Love’s lead was never really in doubt after posting a 1-under-par round on day one, and he finished the tournament with a 73 to win city-county for the second year in a row.
“Overall, I played really well,” he said. “My short game was there, and I was able to rely on that. I was able to focus on having a good time.”
Teammate Jesse Holton came in second as an individual with a 77, while Owensboro’s Jack Lashbrook took third with a 79.
Daviess County also got scoring from Brady Huckleberry (91) and Nick Johnson (92) to shoot a 333. Head coach Lars King said he’ll take the win, but he expects the team to shoot below 320 if they want to advance in the postseason.
He said everyone on his team can post low scores, but it doesn’t take much for them to have a bad day, either.
“One or two mental errors can really cost you,” he said. “We’re hoping for better moving forward. We need everything to click at the right time.”
Owensboro Catholic shot a 362 to take second place with scores from Jakob Wellman (81), Griffin Payne (88), JT Payne (95) and Noah Johnson (98). Owensboro was a close third, posting a 369 with scoring from Lashbrook, Paul Iracane (84), Andrew Chancellor (98) and James Rhineburger (108).
Trinity (424) narrowly beat Apollo (426) for fourth place. Scoring for the Raiders were Trenton Morris (102), Sam Russelburg (105), Blake McBrayer (107) and Luke Payne (110). Apollo’s scores came from Noah Stewart (88), Isaac Crabtree (101), Nathan Payne (110) and Aiden Watson (127).
The focus shifts to the regional tournament now, and Love expects this tournament to help the Panthers get ready.
“This is a confidence boost for the team,” he said. “It proves we can do well and contest.”
King said his team will likely be favored by at least a couple of shots but expects some stiff competition.
“We’re probably the most talented team,” he said. “But it all depends on how the ball bounces that day. That could make the difference in playing in the state tournament or not.”
King said the main focus now will be playing consistently and avoiding unnecessary errors.
“You don’t have to teach them how to get the ball in the hole,” he said. “It’s the mental part of the game. When I’m standing there with them, they make the right decisions. But it seems like when I’m not there, they somehow have a mental lapse. We’ve just got to keep practicing and getting better.”
