Columbus North sophomore Spencer Fairbanks fired his best round of the season, a 77, that helped the Bull Dogs defeat Bloomington North 320-339 on Monday at Harrison Lake Country Club.
“I kept hitting the fairways and greens today,” Fairbanks said. “I made some big putts earlier in my round that helped keep my confidence going.”
Fairbanks said the conditions were great, despite showers earlier in the day.
“The fairways were pretty hard and the greens were real smooth, which helped me stop the ball on the green really well,” Fairbanks said.
Fairbanks’ teammate, Jared Imlay, had another big performance as well. Coming off a 76 in Saturday’s Bedford North Lawrence Invitational, Imlay responded by shooting a 79.
“Besides a couple of bad holes I had, overall, it is another good day for me,” Imlay said. “I just hit a couple of bad drives, and my fairway shots helped me out as I was hitting those a lot better today. The ground was really hard, so on some holes if I left a ball short, it would roll up on the green.
“I have to continue to play consistent, and I have to keep staying focused. I was persistent in trying to keep my round as smooth as possible.”
Kyung Kim scored an 81, and Matt Vorndran rounded out the scoring for the Bull Dogs by carding an 83. Bryce Turner and Zach Schiavello both shot 86.
North assistant coach John Carmichael, who filled in for head coach Doug Bieker, said he is pleased with Fairbanks’ and Imlay’s progress so far.
“This was Spencer’s first time being a medalist, which is very encouraging,” Carmichael said. “He will definitely be someone we can count on later on in the season. Jared has definitely put himself in position to be a big contributor for us. After going for 76 Saturday, and coming back and shooting a 79 today, he put himself in position to be in our top five.”
Carmichael said he hopes the team as a whole is at its best at the end of the season.
“Matt got off to a rough start but battled back nicely to salvage an 83,” Carmichael said. “It wasn’t Kyung’s best round today either. I would like to see us progress a little more, but it is about taking baby steps right now. I hope we are all at our peak performances when we get to the conference and sectional.”
