The high school golf season came to an end for local teams on Monday in the Region 10 Tournament at the Eagles’ Nest Country Club in Somerset.
Clay County captured the team title with at 300 strokes, 21 ahead of Somerset.
Clay County’s Justin Begley had the low individual round of 71, while teammate C.J. Corum tied for second place with a 74.
Nick Caldwell led Bell County with an 80, followed by Hayden Clark with an 85, Will Miracle with a 103 and Bub Treece with a 110.
“It has been a great year,” said Bell County coach Brad Sizemore. “I have really enjoyed working with the boys and watching them all improve their game this season. We have a great group of kids who love to play golf, and it’s been a pleasure to coach them this season.”
Tyler Harris led Middlesboro with an 80, followed by Nick Cox with an 83 and Warren Vaught with a 102.
“I saw our kids get better this year,” Middlesboro coach Allen Wilford said. :All the kids will return next year. Nick Cox saved his best round for the end of the year. Tyler was solid all year. Garrison had some good rounds in the late season and is only an eighth-grader. Warren Vaught has showed improvement. Luke Bayless, also an eighth-grader will get better over the summer. They are all great kids and I look forward to next season.”
Brayden Casolari led Harlan County with a 92. Matt Lewis finished with a 96.
“In golf, many times success or failure can depend on luck of the draw. Tonight we got the bad end of the tee times,” Harlan County coach Greg Lewis said. “Matt started out playing very well. He was on in all parts of his game. Through his first 10 holes, he was on track to match the 77 he shot in his practice round, but the weather hit. These kids faced the most difficult conditions I have seen on a golf course and play continuing. It was brutal and nearly unplayable. The wind and rain were unforgiving. Had this been a regular event, the kids would have been pulled off the course early in the day. Again, it’s the luck of the draw, but I hate to see his final event of the year finish like this.”
“Brayden was in a similar situation as Matt. He struggled a bit early and faced the same weather conditions as Matt. He started later than Matt, so when play was finally called he got to come out and finish his last three holes after the rain. Brayden ended up with a 92 which, again, was not a reflection of the quality of his play. He struck the ball very well and his putter was great again. Again, not wanting to sound to negative, but had they gotten to play in clear conditions I have no doubt their scores would have been significantly lower. We have had a great season and I forget at times that I am talking about a sophomore and a seventh-grader. They are only scratching the surface of their potential on the course. The future of our golf program is in very good hands for many years to come.”
AIden Johnson and Carson Murray competed for Harlan and each finished with a 98.
“Today’s matches were as tough as it gets. The last six holes were in a heavy downpour to the point of causing a delay in play,” said Harlan coach Jeremy Lee. “Aiden and Carson played their best rounds of the year today. The rain delay caused both of them to break their routine, not to mention the course was absolutely saturated and the balls were not rolling at all. I believe both of them would have had sub-90 scores if not for the conditions.
“Today wrapped up our season and I’m proud of every one of our players. Carson, Story (Miller), Aiden, Kevin Thomas (Lee) and Chris (Taylor) got better every week. I wish our seniors Carson and Story nothing but the best in their futures and look forward to next season with Aiden, Kevin Thomas and Chris leading the way.
The Leachman Buick / GMC / Cadillac/KHSAA Boys State Golf Championship will be played at the Bowling Green Country Club on Oct. 6-7.