Willy Davis
GREENSBURG — The No. 16 Columbus North boys golf team had no trouble defending its sectional by winning with a team score of 305 Friday at Greensburg Country Club, but it took close to an hour to make it official.
According to North coach Doug Bieker, No. 1 golfer Luke Schneider played from two incorrect positions and was given a two-stroke penalty on each violation. Schneider originally carded a 70, but the two penalties gave Schneider a 74.
It didn’t matter much as the depth of the team still came through to win the title. Willy Davis was the sectional medalist with a 72.
Columbus East just sneaked in as the final regional qualifier as they edged out North Decatur by one stroke with a 339. Greensburg was second with a 331. Hauser finished eighth with a 394.
“There was a couple of concerns about some drops. There was some issues with his playing partners expressing concerns. We talked about it with the rules committee, and they decided that he did indeed play from two incorrect positions and got a four-stroke penalty added to his card, but 74 is still a really good score though,” Bieker said. “Willy Davis winning with 72. He was 4-over through three holes, and just battled all day and really played great on the back. He took care of the par-5s like he’s supposed to…He worked on his game. He figured some things out. I’m super-proud of Willy for winning sectional as an individual.”
Davis made triple-bogey on his third hole of the day, but bounced back in a big way to claim the sectional title.
“I thought to myself that I had to move on from it because there’s a lot of holes left. There’s a lot of holes out there I can get birdies. I was lucky enough to par-out the rest of the front nine for a 38,” Davis said. “On the back nine, I felt like I found my groove and was able to make two birdies in a row, so I felt pretty confident.”
Other scores for North included Jack Schiavello with a 78, John Merritt had an 81 and Brady Schneider with an 85.
“The team as a whole, we got off to a bit of a rocky start and we battled through that,” Bieker said. “I’m really proud of this team and excited of what they might do next week.”
Ben Luedeke was the lowest score for the Olympians by shooting an 80. Carter Greene had an 85, Spencer Erfmeier carded an 86, Pierce Arnholt finished with an 88 and J.T. Kuhlman had an 89.
East makes its regional return after missing out last year.
“I told that guys that a lot of times, it comes down to one stroke and how important it is to finish each hole,” East coach Keith VanDeventer said. “I’m very proud that we were able to hang in there and make it out. It was one of our goals, and we accomplished it.”
For Hauser, Chase Martoccia finished with an 86. Caleb Wallace had a 90, Zach Weichman scored a 107, Jesse Bragg carded a 111 and Brenden Burton had a 118.
“We were fortunate to have a nice day outside. The guys battled a very difficult golf course today. The greens were super-slick,” Hauser coach Mike Compton said. “Everybody played pretty much to their yearly season-bests. Everybody played strong all the way until the end. We’re pleased with their effort this year.”
North and East will play in the Providence Regional on Thursday at Champions Pointe in Henryville.
