Two days, two different courses and 36 holes add up to a lot of hours golfing. That’s what the competitors in the Central Region high school golf tournament faced Monday and Tuesday as they tackled Jefferson Lakeside and River’s Bend golf courses. Each group spent around five to six hours each day on a sport that can be both physically and mentally taxing. Favored to advance to states, Deep Run and James River did not disappoint with scores of 603 and 604, respectively. But after a tough first round, one group found the right perspective to get things done.

“I think it’s just the first day of a big tournament like this, everybody wants to play well and kids are so focused on getting to states and making it out of regions that they want to play well. After you play poorly, you realize it’s not that big of a deal, you know, I’m going to wake up the next day and go through the same routine … If you go out there and have fun, you’re a lot more likely to play well then if you put a lot of pressure on yourself and beat yourself up,” Deep Run’s Mason Bryan said.

Bryan formed the third group of players from Atlee, Deep Run, James River and Midlothian with Taylor Crain, Sean Dougherty and Jordan Bronstein, and the four started the day cracking jokes and discussing recent films. And they kept it easy-going for 18 holes.

“[We] tried to keep it light today,” Atlee’s Crain said. “You try not to get too into it [because] you start thinking about it too much and hitting bad shots.”
Crain finished the day second on his team at 76 and along with Tanner Foutz (74), helped lead the Raiders to one of the teams’ and the Central Districts’ best finishes ever in the regional tournament, coming in third with a two-day combined score of 637. Crain and teammate Collin Turner both qualified as individuals for the state tournament at Independence Golf Course on Oct. 20-21.

For the regional tournament, Jefferson Lakeside and River’s Bend both presented different challenges according to the golfers. While Jefferson Lakeside seemed flatter and a bit more open, River’s Bend was closed and more compact which allowed teammates to keep in touch with the rest of their teams, but also created bottlenecks at some holes.

“I like knowing where everyone is so I can maybe try to do a little better and try to help the team out a little bit,” James River’s Dougherty said.
The course at River’s Bend also featured more hills including the 17th and 18th holes that were set nearly on hillsides.

“It’s a lot more undulated so you’ve got to be spot on with taking more club [or] taking less club,” Crain said.

It can also be difficult to see the green from the tee. The second hole presented such a challenge from the get-go. The fairway makes a V shape in the center while the hole curves left toward water and around a tree line. Dougherty and Bronstein both got into the rough to the left side but Bronstein sent his next shot up and over a steep embankment and perfectly onto the green. Dougherty played onto the edge of the green and put a nice putt in for what he termed a “miraculous bogie” on the par-four hole.

“There are a lot of blind shots,” Bronstein said. “You can’t see where you’re getting into and you have to guess on a lot of yardages.”

Dougherty finished the day at 79, while Bronstein finished at 89.

Midlothian and Hanover rounded out the top five teams in the tournament at 644 and 663 respectively. James River’s Nick Austin led the way for individuals as the only golfer under par for the second day. He shot a 68 on the par 71 course.
In addition to Deep Run and James River golfers, six other individuals qualified for the state tournament. They are Allan Day of Clover Hill, Matt Sizemore of Douglas Freeman, Kevin Clarke of Cosby, Turner, Michael Swope of Thomas Dale and Crain.

Named to the all-region team were Austin, Chris O’Neill of Deep Run, Sizemore, Day, Jason Schumacher of Deep Run, Clarke, Will Sadler of Deep Run, Turner, Michael McLean of James River, Drew McLean of James River, Swope and Bryan.

CENTRAL REGION TOURNAMENT
FIRST ROUND RESULTS
At Jefferson-Lakeside CC, par 71

James River (299): Nick Austin 67, Michael McLean 75, Drew McLean 76, Sean Dougherty 81.
Deep Run (301): Chris O’Neill 74, Will Sadler 74, Jason Schumacher 75, Zach Schwab 78.
Atlee (323): Collin Turner 75, Taylor Crain 80, Tanner Foutz 83, Alex Fowler 85.
Midlothian (326): Keaton Scanlan 77, Billy Simmons 80, Jarrad Grossman 84, Jordan Bronstein 85.
Hanover (329): Reece Chalkley 80, Ben Longest 81, Trey Cully 84, Hunter Wood 84.
Thomas Dale (331): Brandon Bailey 79, Michael Swope 81, Buddy Donnelly 83, Austin Hamilton 88.
Matoaca (333): Michael Howerton 81, Garrett Palmatier 83, Tyler Hancock 84, Jack Field 85.
Patrick Henry (334): Zack Jezouit 75, Trent Thomas 80, John Carroll 88, Stuart Eisenrauch 91.

CENTRAL REGION FINAL ROUND RESULTS
At River’s Bend GC, par 71

Deep Run (301-302-603): Mason Bryan 74, Chris O’Neill 75, Jason Schumacher 75, Will Sadler 78.
James River (299-305-604): Nick Austin 68, Michael McLean 79, Drew McLean 79, Sean Dougherty 79.
Atlee (323-314-637): Tanner Foutz 74, Taylor Crain 76, Collin Turner 79, Alex Fowler 85.
Midlothian (326-318-644): Bradley Holly 77, Trey Weiskopf 79, Billy Simmons 80, Keaton Scanlan 82.
Hanover (329-334-663): Trey Cully 80, Reece Chalkley 82, Ben Longest 85, Hunter Wood 87.
Matoaca (333-332-665): Michael Howerton 79, Garrett Palmatier 79, Tyler Hancock 83, Patrick Pennell 91.
Thomas Dale (331-337-668): Michael Swope 74, Brandon Bailey 81, Austin Hamilton 91, Buddy Donnelly 91.
Patrick Henry (334-342-676): Trent Thomas 83, Zack Jezouit 84, John Carroll 85, Joel Hicks 90.

Individual qualifiers for Group AAA tournament : Allan Day (Clover Hill), 69-80-149; Matt Sizemore (Douglas Freeman) 72-77-149; Kevin Clarke (Cosby) 77-75-152; Collin Turner (Atlee) 75-79-154; Michael Swope (Thomas Dale) 81-74-155; Taylor Crain (Atlee) 80-76-156.

All-region team : Austin, O’Neill, Sizemore, Day, Schumacher, Clarke, Sadler, Turner, M.McLean, D. McLean, Swope, Bryan.
All-academic : Atlee: Turner, Crain, Fowler. Cosby: Clarke. Deep Run: Sadler, Zach Schwab. Douglas Freeman: Sizemore. Hanover: Cully, Longest, Wood, Chalkley. James River: Austin, M. McLean, D. McLean, Dougherty. Matoaca: Howerton, Hancock, Pennell. Midlothian: Scanlan, Simmons, Jordan Bronstein, Jarrad Grossman. Patrick Henry: Jezouit, Carroll, Thomas, Stuart Eisenrauch. Thomas Dale: Hamilton, Donnelly.

Sara Page is the sports editor for the Midlothian Exchange.