By DAVID WOOD, for The Democrat
Home after their April 30 loss to Owen Valley, the Brown County High School boys golf team redeemed themselves against Mitchell, winning 182-213 on May 2.
Parker VanNess, a 17-year-old junior, was the Eagles’ leading player, hitting par with a 36. Senior Ben Rygiel and sophomore Brendon Asher followed with 47s. Junior Curtis Lookebill hit 52 and sophomore Peyton Proctor rounded the Eagles out with a 56.
While it may not have been the team’s best outing, Head Coach Brad Baughman was satisfied with the team improving to a neutral 7-7 record.
“It’s not a hot streak, but we’re certainly headed in the right direction,” he said.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]“We’d like to keep this going. Some night we’re going to see three or four people in the mid to low 40s. … We’re going to post a couple good scores before the season’s over I’m pretty sure.”
Baughman said his players had trouble getting off the tee and overcoming subsequent mental hurdles after a poor shot.
“Once that tee shot goes errant, the entire hole becomes a different experience,” he said.
“The old adage is the toughest six inches in golf is between your ears, and what we try to emphasize is once a hole is done, you can’t change it,” he said.
Lookebill, age 17, agreed. He said getting angry and losing focus proved to be an issue for him. “I need to relax, forget the last shot, and move on.”
VanNess, despite putting up the top score of the outing, admitted to sharing the struggle of putting together a solid tee shot. “I definitely need to work my drive. I think I only hit one fairway the whole round,” he said.
Despite the struggle, the two-time regionals participant still managed to shoot within one of his 35-stroke season average.
Earlier in the year, VanNess scored a 30, setting a Brown County golf team record.
VanNess believes he and his team have the ability to do well through sectionals and beyond.
“I think the team, if we keep going the right direction, we’ll have a good chance to get out of the sectional if we can put a couple good rounds together,” he said.
“My goal individually is to win the sectional and play well at the regional, to get through to the state tournament.”
Baughman said he believes the team is driven to be more competitive as the season comes to a close.
“They want to win, they want to get better and want to be a competitive golfer on a competitive team,” he said.
“To make other teams have to say, ‘We’re going to have to compete to beat Brown County,’ that’s really all we’re after.”
