Seymour hosts golf invitational in tough conditions

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A little bit of water and high winds weren’t going to stop the first tournament holes of 2018.

Seymour hosted its annual invitational at Shadowood Golf Course on Saturday with eight varsity teams filling out the field.

Conditions proved tough for all of the golfers, as high gusts and a soggy course made each hole a little more challenging.

Columbus North won the tournament by scoring 334 strokes, and Bedford North Lawrence finished runner-up at 338.

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Jasper took third place by carding 345, followed by Blomington North (354), Seymour (360), Columbus East (366), Jennings County (371) and Brownstown Central (436).

Bedford’s Ethan Stanley earned medalist honors with a 4-over-par 76. Columbus North’s Drew Smith (77) and Henry Kiel (79) placed second and third.

Senior Hunter Browning led the Owls with an 86, and freshman Owen Marshall shot 87. Owls senior Tyler Bullard was next with 88, followed by freshmen Conner Hinton (99) and Ethan Dippold (101).

“We started some youth today with three freshmen,” Owls coach Jim Hoffman said. “I think with the conditions and it being their first match, they did pretty well. Owen did a nice job with an 87. I’m proud of Ethan and Connor for toughing it out. I thought Tyler and Hunter would have been a little lower.

“I think that once we get going with more practice time, they will be in the 70s every match,” he said. “Overall, I’m pretty happy. I think we can only improve.”

The Owls have 15 players on this year’s roster with a majority being underclassmen.

“I think the benefit is having the competition in practice,” Hoffman said. “In the past, we didn’t really have that. The program participation is up, and now, spots have to be earned. I think that once the weather breaks, we will see that benefit. We’re getting a lot of kids exposed to the game.”

Brownstown Central senior Brayton Hattabaugh started his final high school campaign with an 88 to lead the Braves. Lucas VonDielingen and Cole Forrest each shot 114s, Chayse Shell totaled 120 and Jalen Curry carded 131 to complete the Braves’ card.

“They were really frustrated,” Braves coach Brandon Allman said. “Two of them (Curry and Forrest) are seniors, but it was the first time they’d played 18 holes on varsity. You try to reassure them that it will get better through the season. You try to keep them positive and help them get better every hole.”

Allman said he expects the scores to drop dramatically as the season progresses.

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