By Mark Ambrogi | For the Daily Journal
Whiteland senior golfer Will Davis could have easily folded mentally on Thursday.
“I made a triple bogey on hole 7 and bogeyed 8 too, to put me two over (par),” Davis said. “To hold everything together, knowing what I could do on the back nine was special. I had three birdies and an eagle on par-5 No. 15.”
Davis shot a two-under-par 69 to capture Johnson County tournament medalist honors with a 69 at The Legends Golf Club in Franklin, edging out Greenwood senior Jackson Watkins, who shot a 70. Center Grove captured the team title with 303 strokes, 13 shots fewer than second-place Greenwood Christian (316).
Franklin finished third with a 319, followed by Greenwood (321), Whiteland (335), Indian Creek (365) and Edinburgh (424).
“This is a personal record for me in tournaments,” Davis said of his score. “To be able to do it on this stage is very special. Knowing I can compete with some of the best around here is special to me.”
Davis, who will play at Elmhurst University in Illinois next season, said he came in with a lot of confidence after winning the Mid-State Conference tournament with a one-under 71 Tuesday at Heartland Crossing.
Watkins had some ups and downs during his round, too.
“I started off pretty hot, made a pretty rough bogey at the turn on 9,” said Watkins, who is headed to play for the University of Indianapolis. “I made a birdie on 10, stayed pretty consistent and had to take a very unfortunate unplayable on hole 18 (when the ball stuck in a tree). It stings a lot. All I had to do was par and force a playoff and ended up taking a bogey.”
Trojans senior Drew Rowen finished third with a 73, just ahead of senior teammate Luke Beetz with a 75.
“Overall, we had a good day,” Center Grove coach Matt Rodman said. “We put up some good numbers on the golf course. It was a good prep round for the group before sectionals on Monday.”
Rodman said the team was solid across the board with Brady Schier shooting 77, Drew Hardin 78 and Nate Olson 82.
“We have a few things to clean up,” Rodman said. “We have a few bogeys the guys would like to have back. This is one of the better days we’ve had all season and one of the better scores we’ve put up. We haven’t peaked yet. I think there is a better number we can put up there, but this is a step in the right direction.”
Rowen said he was hitting the ball well.
“I was giving myself a ton of birdie looks and I was able to get to 3 under par,” said Rowen, who will join Watkins at UIndy in the fall. “Then I made a couple silly swings and made a triple bogey on hole 12. I think I had five or six birdies. I’ve had a lot of consistently solid rounds this year.”
Rowen said the Trojans are close to peaking at the right time — like last year, when they won the state championship.
“We’re starting to hit our shots one through five,” Rowen said.
Beetz, bound for Marian University, said he made up for a double bogey on the front nine by making several pars on the final nine holes.
“I was able to hit a lot of greens and two-putting for pars,” he said. “We had four scores in the 70s. I could have played better. But I’m happy with the result.”
Greenwood’s Ian Reed got the final all-tournament spot with a 76. Indian Creek senior Braxton Christie just missed, finishing in a three-way tie in sixth with a 77 with Schier and GCA’s Sutton Piercefield.
Christie registered a special moment with an eagle on par-4 No. 17, holing a pitching wedge from about 155 yards.
“It was into the wind. I knew I had to hit it a little harder because the pin was in the back so I could have a good birdie putt,” he said. “It hit right behind the hole and spun back and went in. It was cool with all my family and my dad standing right there to make (the eagle) there. It definitely helped my score out, because it was kind of a tough day.”
“I had just talked to him about calming down and finishing strong because in golf you can get too high or too low,” said Braxton’s father, Indian Creek coach Sean Christie. “It’s hard to finish. I said, ‘Center the green and two-putt (for a birdie).’ I couldn’t believe it when it went in; it was amazing. It was phenomenal to see the ball disappear.”
