Monday brought wet weather, gusty winds and tough pin placements, but when the dust settled only one local golfer secured a spot in the state tournament after another fell in a playoff Tuesday morning.
Breckinridge County finished as the team champion at Hopkinsville Golf & Country Club with a 334 while Webster County’s Grant Puckett won medalist honors with a 75.
Owensboro Catholic’s Jakob Wellman was in the final group of the day, and he delivered an 80 to qualify for the KHSAA State Tournament — but he also sent a teammate to a playoff in the process.
Fellow Ace Reece Higdon was in a three-way tie for fifth at 81 before Wellman finished his round. With Wellman grabbing the fifth spot, there were three players tied for spots and a playoff would be needed.
Higdon, along with Muhlenberg County’s James Soderling and Webster County’s Grant Turner, hit the tee at 9 a.m. to see which two golfers will advance after darkness ended play on Monday. Higdon fell on the first playoff hole, which means Wellman will be the only local at this year’s boys’ state golf tournament.
While Wellman wasn’t completely satifisfied with his round or the fact that his team wasn’t headed to Bowling Green, the Ace standout knows he’s got a spot in the state tournament after a solid round Monday.
Even with the conditions, Wellman said he could have shot better.
“I still thought that I could shoot definitely under 75 and maybe under par,” he said. “I was hitting some shots in the first few greens with those pins and I just told myself the scores are going to be up and I knew that as soon as I hit a few shots. That changed the mentality all day.
“Almost more defense than aggressive, which that’s not a good thing whatsoever. It’s a bummer that was the case because I feel like all high school so far has been you can play super aggressive on everything, but it’s good to have the chance where it punches you in the face.”
As he approached his final few holes, Wellman said he wasn’t sure where he stood but knew a solid shot into the final fairway could prove to help. And it did, as Wellman avoided the playoff by a shot and was automatically into the state tournament field.
“Definitely going to work on tightening everything up,” he said was his next goal. “Especially into the greens so I can attack more pins. State will be a hard setup too so I’ll definitely be focusing on that and trying to make all the short putts.”
Catholic coach Bretnea Turner said while she’s thrilled for Wellman, she knows a couple of her seniors are wishing Monday went differently.
“I hate that our team didn’t make it,” she said. “We’ve got two seniors, they have worked their tails to even be able to play golf today. Their parents will attest to that, everyone who knows them will attest to that. Today not being as rewarding as what it should have been for them for all the work they’ve put in, really breaks my heart. All in all, they fought today. They grinded today.”
Turner, like many coaches, was vocal about the difficult pin placements on Monday and it showed in the final scores.
She, along with Wellman, said it didn’t allow for players to take chances.
Turner said it didn’t matter where the approach shot was on the green, there was a good chance it wasn’t going to stay there.
“The course set up the people who know how to attack a hole,” she said. “It didn’t reward long drives. For that, several of our guys who can normally pipe the ball down the fairway, were not rewarded for that. They were 3-iron in hand or 4-iron in hand rather than a driver, which gives them so much more of an advantage in any course we played.”
The Aces finished at 339 overall, just five shots back from the championship as Hopkinsville finished runner-up with a 337.
Daviess County (346) was led by Grant Broughton’s 82 as the eighth-grader delivered a solid performance in his first region tournament. Nick Johnson finished with an 84 while Braden Whistle (89) and Dawson Lamb (91) also had scores for the Panthers.
Owensboro was led by Will Rickard’s 90 while Cole Crews (91) and Will Hume (92) finished right behind him.
Apollo finished in 16th as Tanner Klee was the low Eagle with a 97. Landon Huff went low for Trinity with a 107.
Local scores
3. Owensboro Catholic 339
Jakob Wellman 80 (Qualified for state)
Reece Higdon 81
Griffin Payne 89
J.T. Payne 89
6. Daviess County 346
Grant Broughton 82
Nick Johnson 84
Braden Whistle 89
Dawson Lamb 91
10. Owensboro 376
Will Rickard 90
Cole Crews 91
Will Hume 92
James Rhineburger 103
16. Apollo 410
Tanner Klee 97
Trevor Cecil 102
Ethan Dych 104
Nathan Payne 107
19. Trinity (Whitesville) 508
Landon Huff 107
Nathan Hernandez 120
Declan Williams 139
Aaron Wright 142
Team scores
1. Breckinridge County 334 (Qualified for state)
2. Hopkinsville 337
3. Owensboro Catholic 339
4. Muhlenberg County 342
5. Madisonville-North Hopkins 343
6. Daviess County 346
7. Webster County 353
8. Ohio County 357
9. Christian County 360
10. Owensboro 376
11. Dawson Springs 378
12. Butler County 385
13. Union County 387
14. Hopkins County Central 388
15. Henderson County 391
16. Apollo 410
17. Hancock County 420
18. Ft. Campbell 449
19. Trinity (Whitesville) 508
Individual qualifiers
Grant Puckett (Webster County) 75
Aaron Munger (Madisonville-NH) 77
Jackson Hill (Madisonville-NH) 79
Nolan Nofsinger (Muhlenberg County) 80
Jacob Wellman (Owensboro Catholic) 80
Playoff for final two spots
Reece Higdon (Owensboro Catholic) 81
James Soderling (Muhlenberg County) 81
Grant Turner (Webster County) 81
