Luke Schneider
CARMEL — Luke Schneider and Willy Davis took different paths, but both ended up with the same score in Tuesday’s opening round of the Boys Golf State Finals.
Schneider, a Columbus North senior, and Davis, a North junior, both shot 7-over-par 79 in hot and steamy conditions at Prairie View Golf Club. They are tied for 38th place among the 100 golfers in the field.
Both Schneider and Davis started on No. 10. Schneider went bogey-double bogey on his first two holes and was 6-over before a birdie on No. 18 gave him a 41 for his first nine. After a bogey on No. 1, he parred seven of the last eight holes to shoot 38 on his second nine.
“They kind of went about it opposite ways, but overall, as hot as it was, Luke could have easily let his round get away from,” North coach Doug Bieker said. “Him battling all day for six hours was kind of impressive. He was able to hold it together.”
Willy Davis
Davis parred his first four holes, then bogeyed three of the final five holes on his first nine for a 39. He then bogeyed No. 1 and No. 2 before parring six of the last seven holes, with a double-bogey on No. 8.
“Willy got off to a good start,” Bieker said. “He strung together several pars in a row. He was a little frustrated the birdie putts weren’t falling, but for his state finals, the conditions the way they were, 79 was a good score.”
Guerin Catholic’s Connor McNeely leads the field at 1-over-71. Guerin fired a 299 as a team and leads by four shots over Westfield and nine shots over Bloomington South.
Both Schneider and Davis are looking to better their scores in today’s final round. They will tee off at 9:57 and 10:06 a.m., their same exact tee times as on Tuesday.
“Both of them have potential to get top 20 if they shoot 75 or better,” Bieker said. ‘They are very capable.
“I was also encouraged by the other guys on the team to come up and watch the two individuals and buy tickets online and support their teammates,” he added. “I’m really looking forward to coaching those guys next year and hope that they can get here next year.”
