A strong wind blew the rain sideways as Clear Fork’s Luke Watson stepped up to the tenth tee early Friday afternoon at Oak Tree Golf Club.
“You better get used to it,” Clear Fork coach Jeff Gottfried shouted through the deluge. “Sectionals are only a couple weeks away.”
The annual City Tournament looked and felt a little like the British Open: A heavy blanket of gun-metal gray clouds, temperatures in the mid-50s and blustery, rainy conditions making a mess of things. They are conditions not uncommon to high school golf’s postseason, which tees off in less than two weeks.
“This is typical of what we encounter at the sectional and district tournaments,” said Lexington coach Ryan Zahn, whose Minutemen cruised to the team title with a 309. “In these conditions, everyone is going to struggle. The teams that are successful in the sectional and district tournaments are the teams that learn how to manage these conditions the best.”
If Friday’s event served as a postseason dress rehearsal, the rest of the Division I sectional field had better take note of the Minutemen. Four Lexington players shot in the 70s Friday, led by medalist Kaleb Smith’s 75.
“It was extremely difficult,” Smith said. “One minute you were downwind, and the next minute the wind was in your face.
“I think it was good for us to play in conditions like these, especially with what we have coming up.”
While the swirling winds made every drive an adventure, Smith had no trouble mastering Oak Tree’s greens.
“My putting was unbelievable. I hit three or four bombs of 20 feet or more for birdies and to save par,” he said. “I was satisfied with the way I played.”
Spencer Stierhoff carded a 77, while Joey Zahn shot a 78. Matt Barkett fired a 79.
“We’ve been pretty consistent,” Zahn said. “Every time we play, we have at least four pretty good scores.
“I’m pretty happy with where we are at, but there is still room for improvement. We have to get sharper mentally, especially on days like today when the playing conditions are less than perfect.”
Madison finished second, shooting a 330. Blaine Smith led the Rams, carding a 4-over 76 on the 6,408-yard championship layout. Austin Hallabrin shot an 80, while Adam Sayre had an 81.
“We struggled early in the season, but we are getting better,” Madison coach Eric Wellman said. “Our top two guys have been pretty consistent. Hopefully, they will continue to produce as we get ready for the Ohio Cardinal Conference tournament and then go into the sectional tournament.”
The host Warriors finished third at 346. Anthony Garsecki led Ontario with an 82. Andrew Jolley, Tyler Weber, Jacob Factor and Nick Sgambelleni all had 88s.
Clear Fork posted a team total of 354. Aaron Leech led the way with an 87. Watson, James Smith and Devon Shortridge all had 89s.
“Our sectional is in two weeks at Sawmill Creek in Huron and the winds coming off Lake Erie are exactly like the winds we encountered today,” Gottfried said. “I’m glad the weather was kind of bad because it tests our mental fortitude. This is the first time all year we’ve had weather like this. You can’t simulate these conditions when you are playing in August and its 80 degrees and sunny.
“It was tough, but our kids responded about like I expected them to.”
Mansfield Senior didn’t have enough players to field a full team. Dylan Dudley led the Tygers with a 96.
Lexington, Madison, Mansfield Senior and Clear Fork will be in action at the Ohio Cardinal Conference Tournament on Thursday at Mohican Hills Golf Course.
“Our kids are getting excited about the end of the year,” Zahn said. “We still have some room to get better and that is our goal.”
Follow Curt Conrad on Twitter @curtjconrad.
