The Shadow
PIONEER GOLF — Covington’s Holden Broughman (top) and Bath County’s Jonah Ford (bottom) watch shots in a Pioneer District golf match Monday at Cliff View Golf Club. (Gavin Dressler Photos)
PIONEER GOLF — Covington’s Holden Broughman (top) and Bath County’s Jonah Ford (bottom) watch shots in a Pioneer District golf match Monday at Cliff View Golf Club. (Gavin Dressler Photos)
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The Pioneer District golf season is only 18 holes old.
But one day at the Cliff View Golf Club offered a wealth of information.
James River is the class of the district. The Knights won both 9-hole matches Monday playing without their No. 1 player.
Parry McCluer isn’t far behind. The Blues, who only played the second nine because they started school on Monday, finished just five shots back.
And for both Covington and Bath County, the future looks bright. Sophomore Noah Burns paced the Chargers’ back nine scoring with a 43, while freshman Caleb Haynes put together nine-hole scores of 45 and 46 to lead the Cougars.
Both Bath County coach Terry Bradley and Covington head man Rob Bennett were pleased with their teams.
Covington, who shot a 230 last week at Cliftondale, carded a 211 on the back nine at Cliff View and a 200 on the front.
“I knew we would do better here,” said Bennett. “The kids are working hard. For some of them it’s the first time they’ve ever played.”
Haynes, who played non-counting rounds as an eighth-grader a year ago, was consistent for the Cougars.
His round was highlighted by a tee shot that just missed the flagstick on the par-3 14th.
“Caleb has really, really worked at the driving range,” said Bennett. “He’s worked on his own on the weekends. He wants to be a golfer.
“Everybody’s working hard, it was a beautiful day at Cliff View,” Bennett added.
The Chargers, in their first match of the year, showed some depth in their rounds, following up a 183 on the back nine with a 175 on the front.
Clay Robertson bounced back from a disappointing 49 on the back to shoot 42 on the front, while Burns totaled an 89.
In the two matches, the Chargers counted scores from seven different players.
“Our young kids are going to be the difference between good rounds and competitive rounds,” Bradley said. “All the kids that are lower down in the seeding, if they can keep scoring like that we will be fine. I know some of the kids that are higher in the seeding are going to play much better and they know it too.”
James River had three different golfers shoot 80 or below, led by Hunter Thompson, who fired a 3-over-par 75.
Parry McCluer’s Cody Buchanan was the medalist on the second (front) nine with an even-par 36.
The four Pioneer District teams will be back on the course this afternoon for a nine-hole match at Vista Links.
Match #1 Results
(9 Holes – Back 9 – Par 36)
James River (160): Hunter Thompson 38, Trevor Statome 39, Aaron Atkins 41, Noah Thompson 42
Bath County (183): Noah Burns 43, Jonah Ford 45, Brandon Via 46, Clay Robertson 49, Austin Hall 49
Covington (211): Caleb Haynes 45, Holden Broughman 54, Josh Bush 56, Ethan Hinton 56, Forrest Mayberry 56
Medalist: Hunter Thompson, James River, 2-over-par 38
Other Area Scores: Josh Chestnut (BC) 53, Avery Chestnut (BC) 57, Monroe Lee (BC) 58, Carson Kincaid (BC) 60, Caleb Morrison (C) 67
Eighth Graders: Seth Fertig (C) 51, Austin Akers (C) 66
Match #2 Results
(9 Holes – Front 9 – Par 36)
James River (155): Hunter Thompson 37, Sean Kessler 37, Trevor Statome 38, Aaron Atkins 43
Parry McCluer (160): Cody Buchanan 36, Christian Camden 39, Trent Boatwright 42, Kennon Burnette 43
Bath County (175): Clay Robertson 42, Brandon Via 44, Monroe Lee 44, Josh Chestnut 45
Covington (200): Caleb Haynes 46, Josh Bush 51, Forrest Mayberry 51, Ethan Hinton 52
Medalist: Cody Buchanan, Parry McCluer, Even Par 36
Other Area Scores: Noah Burns (BC) 46, Jonah Ford (BC) 49, Avery Chestnut (BC), 56, Austin Hall (BC) 67, Carson Kincaid (BC) 70, Caleb Morrison (C) 71
Eighth Graders: Seth Fertig (C) 44, Austin Akers (C) 68
