Bell County senior Andrew Caldwell made it three for three in the young golf season by winning a match Thursday at the Wasioto Winds Golf Course in Pineville, shooting a one-under par 35 to edge teammate Hayden Clark and Middlesboro’s Tyler Harris by one stroke each.
“Drew won another match tonight. He is a special talent on the course. There really isn’t a shot he doesn’t have. The scary thing about him is that he’s won each match we’ve played this season and he’s not playing his best golf at the moment,” Harlan County coach Greg Lewis said. The same goes for Tyler. He’s putting up exceptionally good scores and he’s not on his top game at the moment. And both of these kids are even better young men than golfers. I believe they are undoubtedly the two best golfers in our region right now. It’s fun watching them tee it up.”
Cumberland Gap’s Peyton Wilder was fourth with a 38. Cole Paxton and Dillon Collins, both of Cumberland Gap, tied for fifth with a 41. Harlan County seventh-grader Brayden Casolari was tied for seventh with Middlesboro’s Nick Cox with a 42. Harlan County’s Matt Lewis finished with a 49.
“Brayden played well again tonight. He’s very consistent. He hit some great shots throughout the round. As I’ve said before, as soon as he gets comfortable on the course, recognizing how to play a few holes, he’s really going to lower his scores. I was a bit concerned before the season about him transitioning from the junior events to playing with the older boys, but he’s had no problems with it at all,” Lewis said. “Matt struggled tonight, but you can chalk that up to his coach. I’m working on my game and had a free morning to get out, so he went through a full range session and played a round with me early before going through his second range session and walking his match tonight. He had an orthopedic procedure earlier in the week and hasn’t been able to eat like normal to fuel his body properly and he just ran out of gas tonight. And that’s on me. He did hit some great shots but the early round wasn’t the best coaching decision I’ve made for him.”
Cumberland Gap won the team title with a 166, five strokes ahead of Bell County and seven ahead of Middlesboro.
Harlan County will return to action next week with matches Monday and Tuesday in Pineville.