The Benedictine golf team entered the Class 4A State Tournament as one of the top teams in Georgia, across all classifications, and the Cadets were looking forward to hosting the event at their home course — The Savannah Golf Club.
But the Cadets didn’t play to their potential Monday in the opening round of the 36-hole event as BC shot a team score of 308 (with the top four scores among six golfers counting to team score) to come in at 24-over par. The Cadets sit in fourth place, 23 strokes behind the leader Cartersville, which shot one-over par.
Cadet star Bear Dollander, the defending state champion who has committed to play at Alabama, got off to a rough start. After birdieing the first hole, the junior left-hander took a triple-bogey 7 on the third and then bogeyed No. 6, No. 7 and No. 8 to make the turn in five-over par.
He battled back on the back nine with birdies at No. 10 and on the par-3 14th hold to shoot a four-over par 75. He is in 13th place, 10 strokes behind Cartersville junior Bodie Brumlow, who carded seven birdies in his stellar round of 65.
Benedictine junior Jack Weeks and sophomore Alex Dao both shot 77 and freshman Carson Hayes had a 79. Seniors Hamp Threlkeld and Dane Chadwell both posted 82s, which didn’t count toward the team score on Monday.
“I think we came out a little bit tight,” said BC coach Kevin Halligan. “It’s a tricky little golf course and if we get a couple bounces go our way early tomorrow, we are fully capable of making up a lot of shots.
“Knowing the course has its positives and its negatives. When you know you’ve shot some good numbers on this course and you get going bad early, you feel like you can make a lot of shots up, but this golf course is playing firm and fast right now and when you press, things can start going bad. I know the seniors and juniors will hold each other accountable. We’ll talk about it, and I think we’ll come back tomorrow and play really well.”
Brumlow played in the same group with Dollander and had an excellent showing. He had three birdies on the front, with the only blemish on his card a bogey at 230-yard par-3 eighth. He closed strong on the back nine with birdies at holes No. 11 and No. 12 and No. 15 and 16.
“I made some really good drives and approach shots on some of the harder holes on the back nine and I putted really well today,” said Brumlow, who has committed to play at Georgia. “I hit a lot of good shots on the front nine, but didn’t make many putts, but then the putter heated up on the back nine. On a couple of the par 5s, I had long putts of like 40 feet that almost went in for eagles — but those were tap-in birdies and you always love to have those.
“Our team is in first right now and those guys mean more to me than finishing first individually,” he said. “I want to play well to help our team win, but I’m not going to change my strategy.”
Class A-3A Private School Boys
Savannah Country Day leads the team standings after the Hornets shot 7-over par as a team.
SCD leads Christian Hertitage by a stroke, with Mt. Paran trailing by four strokes and Aquinas six strokes back.
Sophomore Kohki Maeda led the Hornets with a 2-under par 70, with five birdies, at Nob North Golf Club in Cohutta.
Junior Charles Morris carded an even-par 72 and senior Caden Hartley shot 75. Sophomore Noah Goldstein’s 78 also counted toward the Hornet team score.
Class 6A Girls
The Richmond Hill girls are in the hunt for a state title as the Wildcats shot 25-over as a team and sit in second place, five strokes behind Lambert.
The Lady Wildcats played at Bentwater Golf Club and in the afternoon after the boys.
Junior Alexa Mohler led the way with a 2-over par 74. She is in third place behind Lambert’s Grace Lee, who fired a 70, and Camden County’s Georgia Blount, who shot 71.
Freshman Ella Kate Woods shot 80 for Richmond Hill and senior Amanda Puchales had an 87.
Class 6A Boys
Richmond Hill shot 34-over as a team and is in 11th place, 27 strokes behind the leader Lambert in the Class 6A boys tournament being held at Bentwater Golf Club in Acworth.
Wildcat senior Ledger Conley, the defending state champion who has signed to play at Jacksonville University, shot a 6-over par 78 and is in 35th place, seven strokes behind the leader Aydin Dossa, a junior from North Gwinnett.
Senior Patrick Mahaffey shot 77 and his classmate Mathew Reynolds had a 78 for the Wildcats.
Savannah Arts sophomore leads in Class 2A
Savannah Arts sophomore Maya Lilja-Vazquez is playing as an individual in the Class 2A state tournament at Okefenokee Country Club in Blackshear and she is doing her school proud after a stellar first round.
Lilja-Vazquez shot a one-over par 73, with three birdies on the day, and is tied for the lead with Allie Nguyen, a freshman from Columbus High.
Lilja-Vazquez came back strong after a double bogey on the par-five eighth hole led her to make the turn at 2-over par 38. She had birdies at the 11th, 15th and 17th holes to finish with a flourish.
Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Benedictine golf team looks to rebound in state tourney at Savannah Golf Club