Albany golf competes at Shady Oaks in Eula tourney

By Sam Waller

The Albany golf teams got their first look of the year last week at the course that will host district competition with differing levels of success at the Eula tournament at Shady Oaks Golf Course.

Coach Tate Thompson will split his forces next week with Myleigh Leveridge and the second boys team playing Monday, March 17 at the Hawley tournament, while the first boys team plays Wednesday, March 19 at the Jim Ned tourney at Shady Oaks.

On Monday, March 3, Leveridge shot 113 at the Eula tournament, shaving 11 strokes of her score from her first outing.

“Myleigh had a personal best, and I’m real proud of her,” Thompson said. “I think she two-putted every hole, which is huge on those greens. She’s been practicing on our greens, which don’t simulate the Shady Oaks greens very well.”

On Wednesday, March 5, the Lions first team shot 335 to place fourth. Connor Smith led Albany with an 80, followed by Ty Richards at 83, Huffman Heatly at 84 and Aiden Vickers at 88. Clay Chapman rounded out the lineup with a 97.

“This early in the year with that young of a team, that’s a good place to be,” Thompson said. “I was pleased with that.”

The second team, most of which played the course for the first time, shot 433. Hollis Yeates led the team with a 92, followed by Jacob Knight (105), Dylan Paxton (115) and Landon Balliew (121).

“It was good for them to learn a few hard lessons in course management, especially off the tee, because you can get in a bind,” Thompson said. “We talked about teeing off with something else they can keep in the fairway and sacrificing a little distance by not using the driver. If you get in the trees over there, it’s a bad spot to be.”