Jakob Wellman surged up the leaderboard, finishing in a tie for 17th place after shooting even par Saturday in the final round of the boys’ golf state championship at Bowling Green Country Club.
His round of 72 was tied for the third-best of the day and was only beaten by a pair of 70s and a 71. The Owensboro Catholic sophomore bounced back from Friday’s round of 80 that left him in a tie for 52nd.
Wellman started the day on hole No. 10 with a birdie, and after a pair of bogeys he closed out his first nine with another birdie. His second nine holes also included two birdies and two bogeys.
“After struggling the first day, I felt that in order to put up something respectful I had to get it out of my mind ASAP,” Wellman said. “The second day I just tried to get the ball in the hole any way I could and just keep grinding. It was a positive and a good way to round out the year.”
Aces’ coach Bretnea Turner was proud of the way Wellman finished out the season and is excited he’ll be back with the team again next year.
“Although his score didn’t reflect it on day one, he stayed focused and played with the windy and rainy conditions. He struggled with putting, attempting to overcorrect from hole to hole,” Turner said. “Today, he let himself freely play. He really enjoyed his round and the group he played with, and his score reflected his relaxed attitude. I’m excited to get back to work with him and our team this spring and then be back next fall.”
In the team competition, it was another tough day for Daviess County, though they still moved up one spot to finish 9th in the team standings with a two-day score of 671 (337-334).
Daniel Love led the effort with a total score of 156 (79-77). His final round included two birdies and nine pars.
Other scoring members for the Panthers were Chris Salamah (82-83–165), Brady Huckleberry (87-87–174) and Nick Johnson (89-87–176). Also competing was Braden Whistle (91-92–183).
Salamah, Huckleberry and Johnson recorded one birdie each and combined for 15 pars in the final round. Whistle had four pars.
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2019 golf coverage is presented by The Pearl Club at The Summit.
