G: Cougars edge Clovers 158-161 at Old Hickory

North Putnam senior Austin Malayer chips on hole number eight at Old Hickory Monday. Malayer shot a 42. [Click to enlarge]

The Monday matchup between the North Putnam and Cloverdale boys’ golf
squads resembled a heavyweight bout rather than a golf match. Each team
fought each other hit after hit but it was North that walked away with
the win, nipping the Clovers 158-161.

“Cloverdale has got a really solid team,” North Putnam head coach
David Fox said. “They all have good swings and it was a tough match all
the way around. Really our best players kind of sagged a little bit.

“Maybe be it was a little too much prom last weekend,” he joked.

“Today was our best round to date. A combination of nice weather
and getting some practice this last week I think helped us. But we
played a very good gold team today,” CHS head coach Doug Wokoun
commented. “In a county match you know that everyone is going to bring
their best. So we’re disappointed in some respect, but I think we have
a lot to be optimistic about.”

Each team had a golfer qualify for medalist honors.
Cloverdale’s Michael Glassburn and the Cougars’ Aaron Vondersaar carded
38 to earn the honors.

The teams couldn’t have asked for a better day to hit the course and the scores reflected this fact.

North Putnam’s Jeremy Redman followed close to Vondersaar with a
39, while J.J. Burns had a 40 and Patrick Byrd added a 41. Austin
Malayer came in with a 42 and Kyle Smith had a 46.

“Our freshman came through and pulled it out for us I think.
But that’s what it’s kind of been all year, we don’t know who’s going
to pop up and play well for us. It was a good win,” Fox said.

The Clovers recorded almost identical scores with Sean Rhine
carding a 39, Chris Arnold had a 41 and Mike Wellington and Alex Evans
had 43. Keith Haltom added a 47.

“We really have played a lot better today than what we’ve been
playing and if we can just keep going, I feeling pretty good about
things,” Wokoun said.

Putting was an area that both teams performed well at, with
both squads knocking down long putts at crucial times. Wokoun commented
that all golfers have had to deal with overly damp greens but thinks
that the weather will help the situation.

Cloverdale’s Michael Glassburn drives the ball on No. 4 Monday evening. Glassburn shared medalist honors with a 38 in the Clovers’ loss. [Click to enlarge]

Wokoun also addressed the fact he thinks his team needs to work on the
mental side of the game. Concentration is crucial for the game of golf
Wokoun pointed out and wants his squad to work on theirs.

“I think that we have some concentration issues that we need to
work on. That’s the downside to practicing last week instead of playing
matches,” he said.

North Putnam’s Vondersaar rebounded from a sub-par round at
Turkey Run over the weekend to capture co-medalist honors. Fox spoke
about his team’s ability to rise to the challenge when a teammate
struggles.

“It really is a good thing,” Fox said. “The seniors realize
that if they fall down one round it all right. It takes more than one
guy to win a match and it takes more than one to lose one. We have five
guys that are playing solid and as long as they keep going like this,
I’m really happy with them.”

North Putnam’s junior varsity also defeated the Clovers 186-199.

North Putnam will travel to Deer Creek to face the Cascade and
Owen Valley at 4:30 p.m. today. Cloverdale will compete in a three-way
meet with the Tiger Cubs at Plainfield at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.

At Old Hickory G.C.

North Putnam 158, Cloverdale 161

Medalist — Vondersaar (NP) and Glassburn (CHS) 38.

Cloverdale — Glassburn 38, Rhine 39, Arnold 41, Wellington 443, Evans 43, Haltom 47.

North Putnam — Vondersaar 38, Redman 39, Burns 40, Byrd 41, Malayer 42, Smith 46.

Junior varsity

North Putnam 186, Cloverdale 199

Cloverdale — Williams 47, Saunders 48, Witt 51, Cook 53, Deakin 57, Jordan 58, Schroer 60.

North Putnam — Volland 44, Smith 45, Detienne 48, Wiatt 50, Clevenger 50, Brewer 53, Michner 60.

Next meet — North Putnam will travel to Deer Creek to face the
Cascade and Owen Valley at 4:30 p.m. today. Cloverdale will compete in
a three-way meet with the Tiger Cubs at Plainfield at 4:30 p.m.
Thursday.