The local boys’ golf teams are all in action on day one of the season, joining most of the other region teams in the Daviess County Invitational today at the Owensboro Country Club. While each team will see how they measure up against one another, a handful of individuals will also make early claims for title of top player in the region.
DefeNding region champion Daviess County and runner-up Owensboro Catholic each return a core of strong players — including their leading scorers — and will get a chance to see how they stack up to last year’s teams right out to the gate.
A trio of head coaches now lead Owensboro, Trinity and Apollo, and each team has varying levels of experience and leadership. The Red Devils return most of their roster, while the Raiders and Eagles will each look to a couple of guys to lead young squads.
See below for bios on each team. Keep up with our coverage throughout the year by following us on Twitter @OwensboroSports, liking us on Facebook and checking online for daily results.
Daviess County
The Panthers are set to make another strong run at a region title and state appearance after bringing back many of the members from last year. One key loss will be Jesse Holton, but the return of Chris Salamah — who attended Gatten Academy last year — will help fill that void.
“Where Jesse left, we gained Chris to equal it out,” said Daviess County head coach Lars King. “They’re about the same as far as where I expect them to shoot — a couple over par or even under par depending on the day.”
Also leading the charge will be Daniel Love, who returns as the No. 1 golfer and will again be a top individual in the region. Several other members of the team will come back.
“Daniel had a good summer again, and I think he’ll really have a good season,” King said. “My other guys have gotten a little bit better. We haven’t played any tournaments (before today), so we’ll see where we stack up.”
With only the top team in the region advancing to state under the new golf postseason format, King knows it’s important to be ready to compete at the end of the year. He said the players just need to focus on their own game to find success.
“With golf, you don’t really have a gameplan against another person,” he said. “You’re not playing against somebody else, you’re playing against the course. I keep reiterating to them that one stroke matters. Second place is now first loser. The first shot matters just as much as the last.”
Owensboro Catholic
The Aces are coming off a state appearance in 2018 after finishing as runner-up in the 2nd Region Tournament. Leading the charge will be Jakob Wellman, who claimed the individual title at region last season.
Head coach Bretnea Turner said the goals for 2019 remain the same as usual.
“My expectations and our goals are always the same — to work hard all season, improve in the two months that we have and play our best rounds possible on the day of region to make it to the state tournament,” Turner said. “We always want to be playing golf on the last day of golf season.”
In addition to Wellman, Catholic has a pair of returning players in Reece Higdon and JT Payne.
“All three of these guys have been working hard since last season, and I’m looking forward to competing with them this season,” Turner said. “As they have grown together over the last couple of years, I have seen them mature in their swings and their mental games. I know, even though our team still has some youth, they will be great leaders.”
Noah Johnson and Sam Mitchell are two players with varsity experience who can play key roles. Jacob Warren, Will Fulkerson and several other players put in the time in during the offseason and are looking to play in some varsity events this year.
“The key to success is focus,” Turner said. “I believe, more than anything, this is where we found success last season at region. Focus starts in practice and continues in tournaments all season.”
Owensboro
First-year head coach Pat Hume is taking over a program with plenty of experience. Jack Lashbrook is back as the leading scorer for the Red Devils, and the rest of the top four are also returning players.
“Jack has the ability and the experience to lead our team again this year,” Hume said. “He should be one of the top golfers in the area based on previous years and the work he has put in over the summer.”
Andrew Chancellor, James Rhineburger and Lucas Lyons will round out the top four after playing for Owensboro last season.
“Andrew is much improved over last year, and we expect him to be one of our consistent scorers this year,” Hume said. “James has a competitive fire that we hope pushes him to the next level, and he has shown the ability to shoot good scores. Lucas posted some respectable scores last year, and we hope his game will continue to improve.”
Others on the 2019 roster include 7th-graders Will Hume, Hayden Crabtree and Landon Block, as well as 9th-grader Noah Newton.
“The key for us will be consistency,” Hume said. “We need to have four or five guys that can post respectable scores each tournament. We don’t have a bunch of guys who can shoot really low scores, but it is my hope that these guys will learn to manage their game and play smart golf and post a solid team score each match.”
Trinity
In his first year as head coach for the Raiders, Isaac Rhodes is planning to make an impact right away.
“My biggest goal for this season is to have one of my veteran players make it to the state competition,” Rhodes said. “We have had one of our players go the last two years and I hope to keep that streak alive. One of the players that is still on the team made it two years ago so I hope to help him get back to state again.”
The only two returning players from last season are senior Hunter O’Bryan and sophomore Blake McBrayer. Rhodes also expects sophomore Landon Huff to take a step up and contribute this season.
“Hunter and Blake play a huge role in helping our less experienced players learn the fundamentals of the game and pass on the knowledge they’ve obtained to their peers,” Rhodes said. “Landon has never played competitive golf before, but from what I’ve seen this preseason he could be a difference-maker in a lot of our matches this year. He has shown great potential and drive so I expect him to have huge improvements throughout the season.”
With a roster mostly full of inexperience, Rhodes said playing smart golf will be important.
“Teaching them how to strategize each shot and letting them put that strategy to work will be our key to success,” he said. “As far as talent, we are very solid so to have these talented players play smart will make all the difference.”
Apollo
Under new head coach David Lyons, the Eagles are looking to progress throughout the year with a group of returning players.
“The team goal and expectations are to improve every day,” Lyons said. “This group is putting in the time to get better each day. That is all that I can ask of them.”
Isaac Crabtree will be back for his senior season, while a trio of other golfers will have to contribute each match for Apollo.
“Isaac will provide the leadership for the team,” Lyons said. “He is a good player who is improving every day. Nathan Payne, Jamie Head and Ashton Hope are returning and will be relied upon to provide experience on the golf course.”
The Eagles will also roster a couple of new players in Tanner Klee and Ethan Dych, who Lyons said are both working hard to improve and will improve as the season progresses.
“The key to success for the team will be to show up daily to practice, practice on their own and be patient with their individual golf game,” Lyons said. “Improvement in golf takes time. I tell them to take the good with the bad. Golf is hard. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it. By the end of the year, I believe the Apollo team will be much improved.”
