Considering the inclement weather leading to multiple hour-long delays and pushing the regional tournament onto a second day, Owensboro head coach Pat Hume was satisfied with his team shooting 300.
“With the conditions and everything, I’m pretty pleased with 300,” Hume said. “Our goal is to always go under 300, but with the wind and water, I’ll take 300. I’ll take the win, and 300 is a pretty good score.”
The mark secured the Red Devils their first regional golf tournament title since the 1982-83 season and was 22 strokes better than second place Daviess County. But for a team that has their eyes on a deep postseason run and will be facing off against tough competition at Semi-State this coming Wednesday, 300 might not cut it.
“It is a great feeling to get OHS a long-awaited regional golf title,” Hume said. “There have been many really good golfers through OHS over the years who were not able to get a team title so this one is special as it takes an entire team to achieve this goal.”
Originally scheduled for Monday, the boys have been moved back two days due to the weather. The girls who are playing at the same course, are still scheduled for Tuesday. The Red Devils are scheduled to tee off at 8 am and live updates can be found here.
Playoff Aspirations
The Red Devils are one of eight teams from regions one through four heading to the Hopkinsville Country Club for Semi-States on Wednesday. Each region is also sending the top 10 individuals from teams who did not finish in the top two – rounding out an 80 golfer field. Four of the eight teams in attendance all shot under 300 at their respective regional tournament – including McCracken County who shot 293.
“McCracken has kind of been our rival this year,” senior Nolan Warren said. “In the Semi-State preview, they and Taylor County were in the top three alongside us.”
For the majority of tournaments Owensboro has attended in western Kentucky this year, the teams are grouped by season average – pitting the Red Devils and McCraken against each other almost every time. The two teams have taken turns beating each other, but Hume believes his squad holds the season head-to-head.
Both Owensboro and McCracken are viewed as the favorites to win the tournament, with Taylor County and Marshall County behind them. Hume believes his team will need to shoot a 295 or better in order to win. For the individual, McCracken’s Landon Hunt is viewed as the favorite, a player the Red Devils know quite well. He’s also a player that Owensboro is looking forward to beating.
“I think we’ve put in a lot of time and effort,” junior Jax Malone said. “I think we are in a great position to go down there and win.”
Due to the storm from this past weekend and the girls’ tournament on Tuesday, none of the attending teams will be able to practice at the Hopkinsville course before teeing off Wednesday morning. Instead, the Red Devils will practice locally with a focus on consistency and eliminating wasted shots.
“We cannot afford to throw away shots,” Hume said. “No punching out from behind trees or taking penalty strokes… Our guys have putted extremely well, but off the tee, we have seen some ups and downs. Improved tee shots and putting the balls on the fairway is a must. Hopkinsville is the kind of course where we won’t need the driver a whole lot.”
Despite the increased competition on Wednesday, it’s win or bust for the Red Devils.
“Our team will be disappointed if we don’t advance because it means we didn’t play up to our potential,” Hume said. “If they do their job as a team they will move on and that will accomplish all of their goals.”
