Harlan County freshman Brayden Casolari continued his domination of the Pine Mountain Golf Conference, shooting a one-under par 35 on Tuesday at the Wasioto Winds course in Pineville for his fourth straight win in conference action and fifth win overall.
The Black Bears won the team title with a 183, four strokes ahead of Knox Central. Knox Central’s Waylon Frazier was second with a 39, followed by Harlan County’s Cole Cornett and Middlesboro’s Garrison Warren in a tie for third at 41. Matt Lewis, of HCHS, tied with Harlan’s Aiden Johnson for fifth with a 45.
“Tonight was the hardest round of golf we have played all season. To start getting ready for the regional tournament, we moved the kids back to the two tees and played the ball down in tournament conditions,” Harlan County coach Greg Lewis said. “I could not be prouder of my guys. We were down a guy and had no drop score. Every shot counted tonight, and we battled through every hole. Brayden continued his dominant play and shot a very impressive one-under par. And the scary thing is he easily left three or four shots on the course. Cole wasn’t at 100 percent tonight but battled to a good 41. He hit the ball really well, just dropped a few shots in tough conditions. Once again Matt’s scores didn’t match his play. He lost seven shots on two holes. Just one or two better bounces and he’s right there with Brayden fighting for the lead.”
Evan Simpson also competed for the Black Bears, shooting a 62.
“Evan really impressed me tonight. This was a tough course, really tough conditions with hard pin locations. I know he was pushing himself a bit knowing we had no drop score. I told him after the match that I was very impressed with his play,” Lewis said. “He’s been a competitive golfer for only a year. He battled on every shot on every hole and is getting better every time out. He had pressure on him and responded very well. We just need to tweak a few things, focus a bit more from start to finish, and just clean up a few of these dropped shots that are preventable and I like our chances as the conference championship and regional tournament are coming up soon. We’ve had a great season, but we are still hungry to finish our season goals.”
The Bears will play at Cedar Hill in Jonesville, Va., on Monday and then have their last regular season conference match at Woodlake in Tazewell, Tenn., on Tuesday.