Daviess County freshman Grant Broughton earned a top-five finish on day one, while Owensboro Catholic’s Jakob Wellman also qualified for day two.
Broughton had a strong first day, finishing with an overall score of 71 to put him in contention for a state title on day two.
“I was pleased with my round,” Broughton said. “Everything was going pretty good for me. My strength was definitely my chipping and putting, I had a lot of confidence in those today.”
Broughton said he hopes to find himself on the fairway more often on day two in order to shave some strokes off of his game.
“Tomorrow I definitely need to improve on my driver,” Broughton said. “Usually my driver is the strongest part of my game, but I only hit seven fairways today.”
The freshman said he is thrilled to see his work paying off amongst some of the best golfers the Commonwealth has to offer.
“It means a lot to be in contention as a Freshman,” Broughton said. “Everything I’ve been working on in the last months are finally starting to pay off and I think if I make a few more putts and hit some better drives I can put myself in good position to win tomorrow.”
With a state championship within his grasp, Broughton said he must stay calm and take an easygoing approach to come away victorious.
“My main mindset for tomorrow is that I have to be patient and play my game one shot at a time,” Broughton said. “It’s easy to get impatient and start to play aggressive, but I can trust that I will give myself good opportunities without forcing anything.”
Meanwhile, Wellman finished the day tied for 31st with an overall score of 77. Wellman qualified for day two, but he wasn’t pleased with his opening round at state.
“I didn’t really get much out of my round,” Wellman said. “I felt like I struggled a little to make birdies out there, but the pins were tough.”
However, Wellman thinks he can close the gap between his competitors if he shores up a few things on day two.
“I felt like I hit my irons well,” Wellman said. “I played the par threes in even par which was definitely a positive. I think I can shoot a solid score tomorrow, if I can just get a couple putts to fall that didn’t go in today and hit a couple more fairways.
Wellman said the course is set up tough, but he is excited to have the opportunity to make up some ground and finish his high school career strong.
“I’m going to go out there and play freely and relaxed,” Wellman said. “I’ll be trying to make up some ground, but most importantly take in my last round of high school golf and finish on a positive note.”
