Advertisement
West Liberty tournament shows Bears competitive
by Gregory R. Norfleet · Sports · May 04, 2017


Led by a one-under-par showing on nine holes by Ted Bridges, the Bears boys golf team finished third in an 18-hole West Liberty Invitational on April 25.


Bridges shot 35 on the front nine, the first one-under-par West Branch player since Mitch Moon did so during the first round of the conference meet in 2010.

Central Clinton took first in the best-four 18-hole tournament with 320, followed by Wilton with 335 and West Branch with 356. Other scores: 4. Winfield-Mt. Union 356, 5. Durant 358, 6. Mid-Prairie 362, 7. North Cedar 364, 8. Clear Creek-Amana 372, 9. Tipton 373, 10. Regina 388, 11. West Liberty 390.

“This was a big step for us,” Bears Head Coach Randy Sexton said. “There were a lot of conference schools there. At least we showed we could play with conference teams and hold our own.”

Of the 11 teams present, only three — Central Clinton, Winfield and CCA — are outside the River Valley Conference, meaning West Branch scored second among RVC teams.

Individual scores: Bridges 35-44 79, Trevor Thein 49-43 92, Mitchell Knoop 47-45 92, Brady Lukavsky 45-48 93, Matt Whaley 49-46 95, Evan O’Neil 47-51 98.

Bridges finished in a fourth-place tie on the medalist list but was bumped to No. 5 on a tie-breaker for hole No. 12, then No. 3.

“Ted had quite a round,” Sexton said, with birdies on holes No. 2, 7 and 11. “He was in that proverbial ‘zone’ we like to enter.”

The coach said the team talked about that round afterward, and he told them “we don’t want to be surprised with a round like that.”

“We’re battling now,” he said. “We know what we’re capable with shooting. I’m very proud of Ted for being in the 30s (on nine holes) and 70s (on 18). He’s very capable and very talented.”

He noted that Bridges’ 35 happened one day after Thein shot 37 at Cedars Edge against Tipton.

“We’re very happy for Trevor — that was the lowest round of his career,” he said. “Now we just need to get them all doing it.”

Sexton said all of his players need to “flip their minds” and “make it the exception.”

“We want to make sure we believe in ourselves,” he said.

Bridges had been leading the tournament at the turn.

“A lot of coaches were very, very happy for Ted, and along with the West Branch coaches who were thrilled to death,” Sexton said. “He carries himself well and plays the game right.”

The coach said the team talked about where they “left shots out there.”

“We have to do better than that to reach our ultimate goal,” he said.

He noted that Whaley, Thein and Knoop all improved on the back nine — the second time through on the nine-hole course.

“They kept grinding to get the very best score for us,” he said.

West Branch edged out Winfield with a tie-breaker on the fifth-best score, which was Whaley, which emphasized a message that players “don’t let a round get away from you,” Sexton said.

The conference tournament comes up Tuesday, May 9.

“We’re actually trying to work more on just fine-tuning some things,” the coach said. “We’re working more on getting out of bad situations with the least amount of damage, like stuff behind trees and downhill lies.”

The conference tournament takes place at Saddleback golf course in Solon, which has fewer trees than Wahkonsa, where the sectional tournament takes place.