For the first time this golf season, the weather finally cooperated in southern Indiana.

As a result, the scores were much better and the spirits were higher at Shadowood Golf Course on Tuesday evening.

Seymour hosted Franklin, while Trinity Lutheran hosted Jac-Cen-Del and Medora.

Braxton McCory is the lone representative on Medora’s golf team, and it’s the second straight year he has decided to go solo on the greens.

“Just learn from it, get better and improve my game,” McCory said on why he likes to play.

McCory was an all-county basketball player for the Hornets in the winter, so he said it’s a little different coming from a team sport like basketball and playing alone in golf.

“It’s not too bad,” he said. “Golf is a mental game, as well, so you can stay more focused.”

Tuesday was his first match of the season, and he shot a 52.

“I thought my putting kept me in it,” he said.

McCory is still basketball first, as he currently plays AAU for Southern Indiana Shock, so he says he gets out to practice on the golf course whenever he doesn’t have basketball practice.

He said he still has about seven or eight matches left on his golf schedule this spring.

The teams McCory played with were Jac-Cen-Del, which shot 203 as a team, and Trinity, which won the match with a team score of 196.

Kade Hill and Jacob Sabotin both shot a 46 to lead Trinity, while Preston Kovener and Caleb Williams both shot a 52, and Wiley Jones had a 65.

“I was driving it pretty well,” Hill said. “I usually have a pretty bad slice to the right, but I was keeping it pretty straight today. I had a few really good putts that I saved for par.”

Sabotin said his irons were good Tuesday, and everything else was “decent.”

Hill said this was an average round for him as he’s usually around the mid-40s, while Sabotin is usually in the high 30s.

Hill noted he’s used to swinging the clubs in layers with how cold it has been during the first couple matches, so it was nice to have better weather Tuesday.

“It was really awesome because maybe you don’t play as good, but the sun was shining and it was a good temperature,” Sabotin said.

Sabotin said he wants to see his chipping and putting get more consistent, while Hill said what he needs to work on changes week by week. The Cougars will be back in action Saturday at the Jennings County Invitational at 9 a.m.

The other match that was played at Shadowood was between Seymour and Franklin. The Owls shot a team score of 165, barely losing to Franklin, which shot a 162.

Head coach Jim Hoffman said he’s excited about what he saw from the Owls and was happy with the way they played.

“I’m excited about where we’re at and what we did tonight,” Hoffman said. “I think the weather breaking really put a pep in our step tonight. We probably knocked off 30 to 35 strokes tonight. We did a lot of things better. We’ve got to work on getting out of trouble and then forget about the next shot if we have a bad hole. I’m pretty fired up about the score we had. We’re hoping to get under 160, and that’s our goal.”

Seymour’s Oliver Kardos and Franklin’s Jake Lock were co-medalists, both shooting a 37.

“Nerves have got him the first couple tournaments,” Hoffman said of Kardos. “His work ethic is amazing. I believe he’s one of the top 50 golfers in the state right now. That’s his potential, and I’m excited for him. He’s going to pull the rest of the team along as he goes.”

Andon Self was second for the Owls with a score of 42, and Ty Stuckwisch and Manny Fontanez both shot a 43. Noah Surface and Trevor Alberring both had 48s, Trevor Goecker had a 60 and Braden Hinton had 63.

In the past, Seymour has always had a strong No. 1 and 2 golfer, but there was a drop off from the next couple of spots. Hoffman believes this year’s team is much more balanced, which can really help the Owls going forward.

“We’re a lot more equal across the board,” he said. “This year, we’ve got five or six guys that are right there. That’s what we needed and haven’t had. Now, we just have to reach our potential, take some positive out of this. I think the kids have a really good attitude, and that’s really what matters.”

The Owls also will be at the Jennings County Invitational on Saturday.